Learning to Love Again
by Furyshield
Summary: After a couple of shocking turns of events, Tails has returned to his normal life, although he's quite lonely. Amy becomes close to him, but after a harrowing run-in with Sonic affecting her and Cosmo's death affecting Tails, can either of them find love again? Will they be ready if they do? Please read and review!
1. The First Day

My first story with no OCs! Between work and starting college soon, progress on this might be kinda slow. Any help/comments/thoughts/constructive criticism is appreciated.

SEGA owns all of these characters. All of them. All of them.

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"TAILLLLLLLLLLLLLSSSSSSSSSSSS SSSSSSSSSSS!" A familiar pink hedgehog shouted. Amy Rose was standing at Tails's front door in the early afternoon, and knocking loudly on the door while asking for him. ". . . Tails?" She put on a pout and made her eyes as adorable as she could. Tails wasn't at home, though, he was in his hangar that doubled as his lab. It was built onto the side of his house, and he soundproofed the walls so that he wouldn't disturb anyone in the house if he worked on his planes or ran experiments while he had company. However, he had linked up a camera, video screen, and microphone to the front door that ran into the hangar. He was giving the Tornado an oil change when Amy's shout made him jump and hit his head on the underside of the plane.

"Owww. . ." Tails muttered to himself. He knew what that shout meant: Amy had just been rejected by Sonic and came to his house for some company. She usually vented her frustrations at first, but after that, the two of them talked like good friends would until Amy felt better. Tails was a bit afraid of Amy the first few times this had happened, thinking he would be face her wrath and the wrong end of her hammer for being too close to her while she was in a bad mood, but he soon learned that she just needed someone to talk to. He sighed as he walked over to the largest computer in his hangar and typed in a series of keystrokes that allowed a camera in his hangar to be linked up to the video screen at his front door, so Amy could see Tails in his hangar. He turned it on just in time to hear Amy's sad plea and see her pout. He sighed and rubbed his head. "Amy. . . you don't have to shout. . ." His downtrodden look became happy within a second, though. She had been chasing Sonic less and less recently, and she occupied her free time with shopping and/or hanging out with Cream, so she didn't come by Tails's house very often. Neither of them liked to bring it up, but they both knew Tails had been lonely ever since Cosmo's death, and Amy's company, although shunned at first because of the terrible depression Tails went through, was now welcome. He typed another command to the computer and looked up at Amy's face. "The door's unlocked, come on in!" He smiled and motioned for her to come in. He set the command to remotely unlock his front door after an enraged Amy met him in the hangar and accidentally broke one of his machines. "I'll be there in a minute, make yourself at home."

"Awww, thanks, Tails!" Amy's pout became a wide smile after she heard Tails's happy greeting. Tails's house was somewhat empty. He had the bare necessities for cooking, entertainment, and general living, but most of his money went into his machines and research. Amy looked around the living room and simply lay back and began humming to herself when she saw nothing new. She turned her head after hearing a door open. Tails had cleaned the oil off of himself and was greeted with a "Hi Tails!" and Amy enthusiastically patting the couch cushion next to her. He chuckled and took a seat next to her and paused a moment, waiting for her to speak. When she didn't take this opportunity, he leaned in and asked, "What happened?" Amy leaned forward and sighed, her youthful energy gone as she remembered what she saw earlier in the day. Tails paused, then asked her what had happened again.

"I. . . I've never seen him like this before, Tails. . . he always playfully tried to get me away from him. . . but this time was different. . ." Amy was shaking as she spoke.

"H-How was it different?" Tails was a bit scared, not so much by her sudden change in demeanor, but by how afraid her voice sounded in telling her story.

"Well, I found him on the outskirts of town, and greeted him. . . like I usually do. . ." Both Tails and Amy had seen her flying glomps that constituted a "greeting." "And I asked him if he wanted to go to that new restaurant, the Chili Cafeteria. . ." With this, Amy rolled her eyes, and Tails tried to force a laugh and failed, only giving a weak smile. "But I guess. . . he was really mad at me. . . he threw me off of him and started shouting at me, and then he. . . he. . ." Amy shivered, and Tails gently reached his hand out to her. She leaned away from Tails, which made him pause. After a few seconds, he leaned forward and put his hand on her shoulder.

"What. . . what did he do, Amy?" Tails's eyes were full of concern.

"He cursed at me. . . and then he started hitting me. . . he kicked me while I was on the ground until I ran from him. . ." Amy had tears in her eyes, but Tails cut her off.

"He WHAT?" Tails was shocked, but he looked down at her dress and saw some bits of asphalt, as well as some small tears on her dress all over the place. He knew Amy wasn't exactly clumsy, and the only other way to get her dress like this would be to roll down the road. "Why. . . why would he. . . Amy, I'm so sorry. . ." He leaned towards her and gently wrapped his arms around her. She jumped back slightly, but returned the friendly hug. Tails let out a slight gasp when Amy clung to him and started to sob into his shoulder.

"Th-Thank you Tails. . ." Amy spoke softly through her sobs. She took a deep breath and continued. "I. . . I don't feel safe going to my home. . . can I stay here for a bit?"

"Sure, Amy. . . how long did you want to stay?" Tails didn't think about his answer at all, he just wanted to see his friend safe.

"Can. . . can I spend the night here?" Amy pulled away slightly and looked at Tails with pleading eyes. Tails thought for a moment about whether Sonic would come here or not. Tails and Sonic were best friends, but Sonic probably wouldn't tell Tails something like this. Tails knew Sonic was more likely to run to calm himself down or be alone at his house than to come to Tails's house, or even to call. He nodded and Amy let him go. "Oh, thank you so much, Tails. . ."

"Y-You're welcome, Amy. . . I've got a guest bedroom upstairs, and there's some leftover pizza in the fridge for dinner." Tails looked away, a bit embarrassed. He wanted to treat his guests better than leftover pizza, but if he went out in public with Amy, he knew there was a decent chance they'd run into Sonic, and he didn't want to risk that right now, and knew Amy wouldn't, either. Amy let out a sigh of relief and smiled at Tails.

"It's no enchilada, but it'll have to do." Amy giggled. Ella taught her plenty of cooking, and the enchiladas she made had become Amy's favorite food. She looked around the house and gently shook her head. "Tails, you need something to lighten up the place. . . I NEED to take you shopping sometime. . ." Tails sighed and got up from the couch, but smiled. If Amy was saying things like that, she was doing a lot better now.

"Come on, Amy, you know I already have everything I need, I doubt a couple of stuffed Chao dolls would make the place any different." He chuckled. "You feeling better now?" He hoped his earlier assumption was correct, and Amy gave a shy nod.

"Yeah. . . it's all thanks to you, Tails. . ." Amy walked past him towards the guest bedroom, noticing Tails blush as she walked past. She gave a soft giggle. She didn't think Tails would feel much of anything at all romantically after what happened to Cosmo, but support from his friends and some therapy changed all that. She only thought of Tails as a good friend, though, and she helped him just as much as he helped her. Tails was stunned for a second, then turned and followed her up to his guest bedroom. It was a simple room, with a bed with white sheets, a green lamp, and a couple of doors that were used for a closet, but they were empty now. Amy shook her head and gave a playful sigh. "Can I at least redecorate in HERE?" She then turned to Tails and did her pout and sad eyes she pulled off when she was outside. Tails laughed and shook his head.

"So, what did you want to do for the rest of the day, Amy? I promise I'll keep you company and not work on any of my machines today." Tails smiled. He knew Amy still needed someone to talk to, even if she seemed to be feeling better.

"Oh. . . you don't have to do that, Tails. . ." Amy was trying to be polite, and Tails opened his mouth to protest, but Amy produced a small, red book. "I've taken to writing in this diary when there's no one else around to listen. . . if you want to work, I can just-" She was silenced by Tails gently placing his finger against her mouth to shush her.

"It's still not as good as actually talking to someone. Believe me, I know. . ." Tails gave an embarrassed smile.

"M-Maybe later, Tails. . ." Amy gave out a yawn, which surprised Tails. "I'm a little tired after all this, you mind if I rest?" Her adrenaline wore off and gave way to the stress from the day, which tired her out. Tails nodded and spoke softly.

"I'll be quiet. . . if you need anything, just let me know, I'll be downstairs." Amy nodded, and Tails got up and left the room, closing the door behind him. Amy tucked herself in and fell asleep almost instantly.

Tails stayed true to his word, switching between working on blueprints of a design for a new plane and watching some TV, but what had happened to Amy was gnawing away at his focus. He never thought Sonic would do something like that. He thought Amy would either give up hope or take the hint before Sonic would even consider intentionally harming her. He knew he would have to talk to Sonic about it later, but his first priority was to keep Amy safe and make sure she was okay. He had only known her as Sonic's biggest fangirl for a long time, but after Cosmo's death, he saw a different side of her. Amy cared very much about her friends, and he hadn't noticed this because he hadn't needed anyone for the unique kind of comfort a true confidant can provide. It took a bit of persuasion, but he was spilling out some secrets to her that even Sonic and Cream didn't know. She was the only one he talked to about his therapy sessions, in fact, she was the only one who he told about going to therapy in the first place. She appreciated his trust, and showed it respect by forming the same bond with him that he had with her. The things she told him almost completely involved Sonic, but Tails didn't mind; he knew it was par for the course with her. He listened and tried to help her as best as he could, encouraging her to follow her heart, and hoping to himself that she wouldn't get hurt in the process.

Tails gave up getting any work done at about five o'clock, pushing his papers aside and instead focused on the TV. He was worried about Amy more and more as time went on. An hour later, he couldn't take it anymore, and went to check up on Amy, only to see her walking down the stairs. "Nnnn. . . hello, Tails. . ." She yawned and stretched, but smiled at him.

"Hey, Amy." Tails breathed a soft sigh of relief. "Sleep well?"

"Mm-hmm. . . now how about that pizza?" Amy looked towards the kitchen. Tails realized he hadn't eaten since noon, just before Amy came over. He nodded and got up, heading to the kitchen and heating up the pizza. He glanced back at Amy ,who was sitting in the couch and was now absorbed in the commercials on TV. He studied her for a moment, then grabbed the pizza when it was done heating. He handed her half of what he had left over and sat down beside her.

They began to eat in silence, both watching the Mythbusters marathon that was playing. Playful commentary about the episodes ensued between the two, with Tails knowing all the theory and math behind every experiment. Tails took the dishes back and washed them, and the two sat for another two hours, chatting away, before Amy went silent, turned away, and gave a heavy sigh. Tails frowned and turned to her. "Amy. . .? What is it?" He saw her turn to him, a look of sadness and indecision in her emerald eyes.

"Tails. . . I. . ." Amy took a deep breath and paused. "I don't think I want to go after Sonic anymore. . ." She slumped forward slightly as she thought about it. She turned and looked at him, still a bit confused. Tails understood it, but was still a bit stunned. Amy had been going after Sonic for years, and to even think about not going after him was a major change for her. He didn't question it, though, and he tried his best to help her.

"I understand, Amy. . ." Tails nodded and gave a genuine smile. He was happy for Amy; he had always thought that chasing after someone who didn't want her for so long wasn't exactly healthy. Amy had always been full of life and love, and Tails wasn't sure what she would do if she stopped pursuing Sonic, the one that made her think about and believe in love the most. "Do. . . do you want to talk about it?" Amy shook her head and smiled right back at Tails.

"No. . . I just need to think about things for a bit. . . I don't know what I'll do just yet, but I'll think of something. . ." Her right hand made a fist, and she had a determined look in her eyes. After years of fighting alongside her friends, Amy had gotten quite resilient, and even though it would sound like shocking news, she only thought of it as a minor setback. Perhaps she would use the time she now had for a new hobby, or maybe even a new love. . . but she decided to put such thoughts off for now. It was too crazy of a day already, and she just wanted to recover and enjoy some time with Tails.

"Okay. . . but. . . if you ever need anything, I'm here for you. . ." Tails mumbled out after a few seconds of silence.

"I know, Tails, and I'm very grateful." Amy smiled. "Maybe we can talk about this tomorrow. . . but until then, what's for dessert?" She rubbed her stomach, which caused Tails to chuckle.

"I've got some ice cream in the freezer. . ." Tails got up, eliciting a "Yay!" and a happy clap from Amy. He went and made some ice cream for the two of them, but Amy wasn't looking at the TV anymore, instead peeking over the couch at Tails. Tails sensed he was being watched, and turned to see her as he was scooping out the ice cream. "Did you want something else, Amy?" Amy leapt over the couch and walked over to him, and Tails froze. She looked like she was trying to figure something out, and had a frown on her face by the time she was two feet away from him.

"Are. . . are you sure I'm not bothering you too much? Asking to stay over like this and all?" Amy's voice had a mixture of concern and worry. She had never been over for more than a few hours, and had never even asked to spend the night. She knew that Tails would be nice to her, and she didn't want him to feel like she was taking advantage of him. She just needed someone to talk to and help her, but Tails understood that, especially now, responding with a wave of his hand and a shake of his head.

"Amy, it's no trouble at all. . . I enjoy your company anyway, and I know things are a bit tough and confusing for you right now. . . I just want you to feel better, okay?" Tails smiled as he handed her her bowl of ice cream, which she took with a happy sigh and a nod of thanks.

"I'll be fine, Tails. . . I know I will. . ." She gave a happy "Tee-hee!" and began to eat her ice cream. Tails ate with her, not saying much. He kept his distance from her, knowing that she'd talk about this when she was ready. Tails took her bowl back with his and washed them when they had finished eating. Amy followed him, staying just out of his peripheral vision, being seen only when Tails turned around.

"Gah! Don't scare me like that, Amy!" Tails said half-jokingly, trying to put on a sad face and failing. That was one of the things he liked so much about having Amy over; her happiness was contagious. Amy didn't fall for his fake-scared routine and kept talking.

"Are you doing anything tomorrow, Tails?" She stared at him expectantly.

"Umm. . . no. . .why. . .?" Tails scratched the back of his head, a bit embarrassed. He didn't have much to do other than work on his inventions and machines, and he didn't have any orders to make anything for anyone at the moment, so his schedule was free.

"Do you mind if I stay over tomorrow? We could go shopping, or maybe eat out somewhere together. At least, we need to go grocery shopping if pizza's all you've got in your fridge." She playfully stuck out her tongue, and Tails laughed.

"That's fine, Amy. Let's talk about what we'll do tomorrow, okay?" Tails looked out and saw the moon start to rise. He gave a yawn, which quickly spread to Amy. It had been a hectic day for the both of them. Tails walked Amy up to her bedroom, and she turned and hugged Tails.

"Thank you so much, Tails. Good night." Amy spoke softly and sincerely, giving a caring smile before going into her room and closing the door. Tails barely had time to return the hug and mumble "good night" to her before she closed the door. He slowly walked downstairs, going over the day again in his head. He was upset at Sonic, but he also thought Sonic wasn't actually mad at her, more like he had just lost his temper after being obsessively chased one time too many. He thought Amy was taking it very well, all things considered. He had a sense of optimism as he crawled into bed, knowing that he'd done the right thing in letting her stay and helping her as much as he could.


	2. Oh, he's a fox, all right

This got done quicker than I thought. It was also longer than I thought it would be at first. Oh, well.

SEGA owns ALL of the characters!

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Tails awoke the next morning to the sound of Amy singing in the shower. It was 10 AM, so he knew she was either being courteous, or didn't get much sleep the night before, either, and probably for the same reasons that Tails did. If anything, Tails had more of a reason for tossing and turning than Amy. Not only was he shocked at yesterday's events, he was a still confused at how Amy recovered so quickly, and what she had said about giving up Sonic, and how emotionally close the he and Amy were yesterday. He sighed as he sat up in bed, trying to give it more thought while Amy was in the shower, but his mind wasn't fully awake yet, he needed some food first. He decided to go down and see what he could make for breakfast, but only found a couple of eggs and some cereal. He gave a nervous laugh as he remembered Amy's words about needing to go shopping. He sighed and made breakfast for the two of them, becoming a good cook from hanging out with Cream and trying things on his own. He wasn't amazing, but he could make eggs without burning them. He had just gotten the food onto plates when he heard Amy come down from the shower, wearing the beaten-up dress she had on yesterday. Tails smiled, but had concern in his eyes as he looked her over. She looked nervous, but gave a smile that was somewhat forced. Tails responded with by smiling and handing Amy her breakfast. "Here you go, Amy. Sleep well?" Amy sat down at the table and shook her head. Tails frowned and got his own food, starting to eat as Amy spoke.

"Not really. . . too much to think about. . ." The confusion and sadness from yesterday seemed to creep back in, and she ate very slowly. Tails felt it, too, but didn't think there was much more he could do at this point, so he tried to change the subject instead.

"Hey, Amy. . ." He leaned towards her and started speaking softly. "You want to go into Station Square with me today? At the very least, we need food, and maybe we can get something nice for the guest bedroom. . ." He wouldn't mind if Amy got something small to spice the place up, despite his comment yesterday. He knew his place was a bit dull, and a bit of a change might help him relax a little.

"Okay. . . but first. . ." Amy lowered her head and closed her eyes, putting her hands in her lap. Tails stared at her intently and started to panic when Amy didn't immediately suggest anywhere to shop or anything to shop for. "I want to go by my house. . . see if everything's okay, and at least change into a new dress. . ." She gave a shy smile, and Tails rested his chin on his hand as he thought about it. He didn't want to tell her, but he hoped she agreed with him that Sonic didn't mean to act the way he did towards her. He was worried about what would happen if Sonic was there, but he thought of himself protecting her if need be, even against Sonic. Amy had come to mean so much to him after Cosmo's death that he couldn't bear to see her hurt like this. Even though he knew this was something that was between her and Sonic, he wanted to help them as much as he could; he couldn't stand two of his best friends fighting each other. He nodded, but still looked pensive.

"I think we should go to your house first. . . when did you want to leave?" Tails sounded distant, but he was just trying to plan out the day.

"How about we clean up, then leave ten minutes after that?" Amy wanted to leave quickly, but be respectful in case Tails wanted to do something. Tails simply shrugged and nodded, merely wanting to get the nervous part of potentially meeting Sonic over with.

The two of them finished eating quickly, and the ten minutes went by in a long silence. They hopped in the Tornado and flew off, arriving at Amy's house in a few minutes. Tails slowed his descent more than he would have normally, taking a good look around for anything that was moving quickly and blue. Finding nothing, he landed on a grassy patch of land beside Amy's house. Tails got out as quickly as he could, still scanning around, and double-checking when he didn't find anything. Amy slowly walked up to her door, also nervous at seeing Sonic, but she looked surprised when she saw a piece of paper pinned to her door. "Tails!" She shouted and beckoned him over, and Tails ran to the door.

"What is it, Amy?" He noticed the paper she was pointing to. "A note, huh?" Amy took the note and held it between the two, and they began to read:

_My Dearest Amy:_

_I am truly sorry for the way I treated you yesterday. I don't know why I did it, but that's no excuse. There is no excuse for doing that to someone who has been so close to me for years. The endless supply of joy you bring to the group made every victory over Eggman just that much better. I don't know how I can make it up to you, and I was hoping to find you here, but I guess you never went home afterwards, and I can't blame you. I won't look for you; just let me know you're okay as soon as you can._

_Sonic the Hedgehog_

After reading the entire thing, Amy took a deep breath and let out an acknowledging sigh. "I knew he didn't mean it. . ." She said, barely loud enough for Tails to hear. Tails nodded and smiled, but gave her space to continue talking. "I'm gonna call him, okay, Tails? You can come inside if you want." She unlocked the door and gestured for Tails to go in first, which he did, mumbling a word of thanks to her as he did so. He had been inside Amy's house before, and although nothing had really changed since he last saw it, he was almost stunned by the amount of bright pink and red he saw around the house. The place was organized and had quite a lot of things to maneuver around. Between the large, pink loveseat, the two tall houseplants, and the myriad of collectible toys, Tails knew he had to step carefully to get anywhere. He settled for relaxing on the loveseat while Amy went to the phone and called Sonic.

_"Hello?" _Sonic sounded distant as he answered. His mind wasn't all there, he was busy worrying about Amy and waiting for a response from her.

"S-Sonic?" Even though it was over the phone, Amy couldn't help but be nervous, and Tails's ears perked up, the conversation now taking all of his attention.

_"A-Amy! Did. . . did you get my note? Are you all right?"_ Sonic spoke so fast he nearly tripped over his words.

"Yes. . . I'm all right, Sonic. . . are you? You don't sound too good. . ." Amy's voice had a small hint of worry in it. Sonic took a deep breath before responding.

"_I'll be fine. . . I just. . . I'm really sorry, Ames. . ." _Amy smiled, both at the use of his nickname for her, and that he really did sound okay now.

"It's okay, Sonic. . . I forgive you, but. . ." Tails turned around now, even more curious his ears and eyes peeking over the loveseat. He felt slightly ill listening, but he put it down to being in such an awkward situation. He hoped Amy wouldn't go right back to Sonic after what he did, but he still hoped they would make up at least somewhat. "I want to be apart from you. . . at least for a bit. . . I won't tell you where I'll stay, so please don't look for me, okay?"

_YES! _Tails thought to himself as he did a small fist-pump behind the loveseat. He was worried for Amy, and wanted her company, and wanted to protect her. _And that's all. . . right? _He ignored the last thought as he waited for her to speak again.

_"Okay. . . I understand. . . I'm just glad you're okay. . . I swear I'll never do anything like that again. . ." _Sonic was relieved that he was forgiven, and was sincere, starting to sound like the hero he was again.

"I know. . . good-bye, Sonic. . ." Amy hung up the phone, turning to Tails, who hid back under the couch. Amy didn't see him peeking over at her, but still knew he was there, and knew he heard her side of the conversation. She gave him a happy smile. "Tails. . . would you mind if I stayed at your place more often?" Amy paused to breathe, but Tails cut her off.

"You're always welcome at my place, Amy. I understand." His eyes were full of relief as he smiled.

"Kay, I'm going to get some spare clothes, and a few other things. We'll go grocery shopping when I'm done, okay?" Amy walked to her bedroom in the back of the house. She got a large, pink suitcase out and began to pack, various mutterings coming from her as she decided what to take.

Meanwhile, Tails was sitting on the couch, not speaking up so as not to disturb Amy. He was still trying to make sense of how this whole thing with Sonic and Amy was starting to play out. They had never officially been a couple, and Sonic just seemed to have lost his temper one day, and he was truly sorry for what he did, and Amy accepted it. Somehow, some part of him didn't want them to get too close. He didn't think Sonic would ever hurt Amy like that again, but something in him still wanted the two of them apart. He waited for twenty minutes on the couch before getting up and walking through the house to check on Amy. He heard her moving things around in the bathroom, and then something that sounded like a lot of things falling, which caused him to sprint over and look at her. "Are you okay, Amy?"

"I'm fine, Tails. . ." Amy sighed and rubbed her head. "I don't know what to take, and I'm trying to pack light. . ."

"Light, huh?" Tails glanced over at her suitcase that was almost as large as Amy was. It was nearly full, which caused Tails to chuckle and Amy to glare at him.

"This IS light for me. . ." Amy switched to a playful grin instantly. Tails looked a bit embarrassed, but he really just hoped he wouldn't have to carry it.

"Want some help?" Tails gave a smile and extended his hand.

"Sure, Tails. . ." Amy smiled and beckoned for him to come closer. "Just pick these up and put them on the counter, I can get to them later. . ." She gestured to the bottles that were knocked onto the floor. "I'm almost done, I just need to put a few more bottles into this thing. . . we should still be able to close it. . ."

"Heh. . ." was all Tails could say as he did what he was asked. Amy was struggling with closing the suitcase, but Tails jumped and sat on it, allowing Amy to barely zip it closed.

"Yay! Thanks, Tails!" She smiled and gave him a hug, which Tails returned. Tails pulled away slightly but didn't let Amy go, his eyes meeting hers.

"Where. . . where are you going to go?" There was urgency and worry in his voice. He knew he couldn't hide that he wanted her to stay close enough so that he could visit her, and he hoped she would visit him often. He simply had a lot more fun when Amy was around.

"I'm not sure right now. . ." She noticed Tails's ears and face drop down slightly. "Oh, don't worry, silly, of course I'll come and visit you. . ." This made Tails's ears perk right back up and made him smile, which caused Amy to smile. "Now, come on, let's throw this in the Tornado and do that shopping I promised we would. . ." Amy was able to lift the heavy suitcase with ease, which surprised Tails at first, until he remembered how heavy her hammer was.

The two took off without problems, and had landed in town an hour later, on the roof of one of the malls. It was usually illegal to park anything on the roof, but being one of the Freedom Fighters, the heroes of Mobius, had its perks. They took the elevator down, but Tails didn't say anything. He knew reminding Amy of anything shopping-related might cause him to be there all day. He wouldn't mind her company, but there was only so much he could carry for so long, and the Tornado didn't exactly have a lot of cargo space. When the door opened, he muttered softly, "Now where was the grocery store again?" Amy pointed to the left, and Tails nodded, making his way through the crowds with Amy as quick as he could.

"What do you want me to make for dinner, Tails?" Amy asked as the two were just outside the entrance.

"Oh. . . you don't have to make anything, Amy. . . you're a guest. . ." Tails blushed slightly at this, but remained polite.

"I know! I'll make the enchiladas that Ella used to make!" Amy's eyes went wide, and she started to remember the recipe, looking thoughtful, then pointing to the aisles she needed to go to. Tails merely waited and looked at her, knowing it was best to let her do what she wanted.

The two of them were so focused on shopping that they didn't notice a familiar face in the crowd. The red bowtie would have been a dead giveaway, but their backs were to Cheese, who was trying to catch up to Cream. He paused for a second, and waved, calling out to Amy and tails. "Chao, chao!" The mall was full of other conversations, so Tails and Amy didn't hear them. This had saddened Cheese, but he was happy to see Tails around again, as neither he nor Cream had seen him for months. Tails had grown apart from Cream after Cosmo's death, not wanting to expose Cream's young and innocent mind to the horrible thoughts he had inside his own head. Cheese flew ahead towards Cream with renewed vigor, catching her just as she left the mall. He flew in front of Cream and waved his arms frantically when he saw her. Cream blinked.

"Cheese! What is it?" She was a bit worried at how nervous Cheese was acting. The two had such a close bond that she could understand Cheese when he spoke. Cream clutched the bag of groceries she had with her closer to her body.

"Chao, chao, chao!" ("I saw Tails and Amy together heading to the grocery store!")

"Tails? Was he all right?" Cream's big, brown eyes were full of concern, but Cheese nodded, which set her mind at ease. "And. . . with. . . Amy?" Cheese nodded again. "That's strange, I've never seen just the two of them together before. Ohhhhhhhh, I want to see them, but I have to get home for dinner. . ." She pouted. "Maybe some other time, but at least he's okay!" She smiled and ran home with a spring in her step.

Amy and Tails wandered through the aisles, getting what Amy needed for making enchiladas, and a few other things. Tails questioned why, but Amy replied with a smile. "This is stuff for you to have. I DO plan on coming by again, and I want to have more to choose from than pizza. Maybe you can cook some more for me when I stop by, too!" She giggled, and Tails looked hesitant.

"Are you sure you're okay with buying all of this?" Tails was quiet. He didn't want to be rude, but he also didn't want to feel like a burden, or like him being here made her buy more than she had to.

"Of course, Tails. It's the least I could do for you after you letting me spend the night like that. . ." She looked down shyly, and Tails stepped towards her and smiled.

"You know I'd do a lot for a friend, Amy, especially for you. I owe you a lot after what you did for me. . ." He looked away and blushed.

"It was nothing, Tails, I'm just glad you're happy again. Back to your old self, you know?" Amy smiled, turning away to get some ice cream for their cart.

"Yeah. . ." Tails mumbled, still looking down. The two of them finished their shopping without saying anything else to each other. Amy paid for everything, despite Tails reaching for his wallet in unspoken protest. Each of them had two bags that were nearly full. "You wanna go back to my place? We need to put some of this stuff away before it goes bad." Amy nodded, and they loaded the Tornado's cargo hold before flying off. The two of them discussed cooking, and what to do with what they made on the way back. Amy impressed Tails with how much she knew about cooking, and Tails impressed Amy by knowing more about cooking than she thought he did. To be fair, she didn't think he knew very much about it. However, he had gotten into it after Cosmo's death, finding it a suitable, deep, and delicious distraction. Tails had promised to bake a chocolate cake for Amy just before they landed, partly to prove his culinary prowess, and partly because they both loved chocolate cake.

After getting inside with the groceries and putting them away, the pair went to cooking. They were both very hungry, and they were so busy that neither of them had eaten anything since breakfast. It was about five o'clock when they got home, and Amy knew dinner would take them a while to make, so she encouraged Tails to get started right away. Amy told him what to get out, and what to do to get things started. Amy made the enchiladas so much she had the recipe memorized, and helped Tails when needed. The cooking banter continued, with Tails getting into some of the less heart-healthy things he had made or wanted to make, which made Amy groan playfully. Just after the enchiladas were put in the oven, Amy paused, putting her finger over her mouth thoughtfully, then spoke up. "Tails?"

"Yeah, Amy?"

"I still don't want to be at home just yet. . . but I don't want to trouble you by staying here another night. . ."

"Amy, you know it's no trouble at all. I like having you over, and I've got enough room. . ." Tails spoke quickly, cutting Amy off.

"I know, Tails. I'll still visit, just. . . maybe tomorrow. I want to go see Cream and Vanilla. They've been very worried about you, you know. Taking me over there will give you a chance to catch up with them." Tails opened his mouth, but Amy put her finger to his lips and continued. "Please, Tails?" Tails was silent for a moment. He was still nervous about seeing Cream again, but he knew he was doing better now; it was almost like the incident with Cosmo never happened. Plus, he had Amy to calm him down and keep him in check of she had to, but he thought he could handle himself well enough, not to mention he missed Cream.

"O-Okay. . . we'll go over there after dinner, all right?"

"Okay. Thanks, Tails." Amy smiled and sat down at the table, and tails sat across from her. "It's just, I know how much they miss you. . ."

"Yeah, but I'll be fine. And you'll be with me. . ."

"Mm-hmm!" Amy nodded. "I don't know why you avoided her so much, Tails. . . she always wanted to help. . ."

"I. . ." At this, Tails sat up and backed up in his chair, as if Amy was about to attack him. "Well. . . you know what I was like. . ." Images flashed through Tails's brain from when Amy was over. A panic attack after the first time Amy mentioned Cosmo by name after her death. Tears streaming down his face at seemingly random times, for no reason at all, when the grief came back to him. The seeming sweet dreams about being with her again that were nightmares once he woke up and realized she was gone. Amy holding him for comfort when he was shaking and seemingly inconsolable. "I didn't want her to see me like that, it would scare her. . ." Amy gently took Tails's hand, which shook him out of his reverie.

"I don't think she'll be scared, Tails. . . she'll be happy you opened up to her, because then she knows she can help. . ." Amy's face fell, now looking right at the table. "It hurts so much to see a friend in pain, but you can't do anything to help, even if you want to. . ." She took a deep breath, thinking of some of the same things Tails just was. "I was so glad when you let me talk to you, because then I knew I could help you get better. . . it was sad to see you so miserable. . ." Amy now leaned forward and looked Tails right in the eye, "and I KNOW you're dying to see Cream again." She smirked and winked, and Tails blushed.

"I. . . I. . ." Tails was saved from having to make a response by the oven's timer. He got up and dashed to the oven, barely remembering oven mitts to avoid burning his hands. He still said nothing as he served the food, sighing after he sat down. "Yeah. . . oh, I know!" His eyes lit up, and Amy gave a sly grin. "I'll take her some candy as a gift. I hope it'll make up for avoiding her. . ." He sounded worried, and looked even more worried when he saw Amy grin.

"There you go, Tails. I'm sure she'll love it. I bought some more candy than we need, you can take some over to her."

"Thanks, Amy! You're the best!"

"Of course!" Amy blushed slightly, and Tails began to eat. Amy ate slowly, watching Tails intently, wondering how to bring up her next topic. ". . . Tails?"

"Yeah, Amy?"

"I really think you need to start thinking. . . well. . . thinking about loving someone again." Tails nearly jumped forward and started to speak, but Amy put her hand over his mouth. "Listen, I know you don't want to after Cosmo's death. . ." Tails leaned back and fell silent again, her name still having a small effect on him. "But. . . it's been two years. We both know she wants you to be happy. . . and I know that being in love and believing in love can make you feel happy, even when things seem hopeless. . . you may not want to do it for me, or for you, but do it for her, okay, Tails?" Tails looked down at the table, not moving, for two whole minutes. Amy was worried she had made him depressed or that he might be about to panic. She breathed a sigh of relief after Tails looked up and took a deep breath, then spoke.

"Amy. . . it's not that. . . I can't love. . . it's just that. . . I don't know how. . . or with who. . ." He was trying to explain himself, but he wasn't sure what words to use, and took deep breaths to keep calm. "It feels like something's wrong or missing. . . all the time. . . and I know that's what it is. . . I just don't know how to start again. . ."

"It's okay, Tails. . ." Amy smiled and put her hand on his, which made him blush even more. "I know all about love, and I'll help you. . . and so will Cream. . ." She gave another not-so-subtle wink. Tails nervously looked down and saw Amy's hand on his, gently moving his own towards him, which made Amy release her hand. "Sorry, Tails, you're just so much fun to tease. . ." Tails merely sighed and went back to eating. Amy frowned and ate quickly. She felt like between the teasing about Cream and asking him to start love, she opened up old wounds. Tails tried to eat normally, and acted like he was fine, but Amy knew better. She mentally berated herself for it, promising to make it up to Tails later.

After some cleaning up and making sure Amy had all her things, the two were off to Cream's house. There was an awkward silence the entire trip, each of them lost in their own thoughts. Tails was nervous about this trip, but knew it was for the best, while Amy was concerned with how to make this up to Tails. She was considering taking him out to eat somewhere, and wherever she thought of going, images of the two of them being there would flash in her mind. _Why do I keep thinking it would be a date? _She thought to herself. _I'm ready to move on from Sonic, but I don't think he is yet, and that's not right to force it on him. Besides, he's just a good friend, he doesn't think of me like that anyways._ Her mind was forced back to reality upon landing and she and Tails went to Cream's house. Tails knocked, a bag of candy held close in one hand, and both looked on, almost in a trance. Vanilla came to the door after a moment.

"Amy! Tails!" She bent down and gave each of them a hug. "So good to see both of you!"

"You, too, Miss Vanilla!" Amy said as she returned her hug.

"Thank you, Miss Vanilla." Tails said as he hugged her, but he scanned around the house, looking for Cream.

"Come in, come in. . ." Vanilla gestured for them to follow and stepped inside, and Tails and Amy followed. "Cream! Amy and Tails are here!" They all heard a squeal of delight, and Cream dashed out of her room to meet them.

"TAILS!" Cream gave Tails a running glomp/tackle combination, sending him to the ground, and leaving him dizzy, confused, and needing air. Once he realized what had happened, he gently hugged Cream back.

"It's good to see you, too, Cream." Tails's voice was soft, happy, and sincere, and brought a tear to both Amy's and Vanilla's eyes.

"Now, Cream, let the poor boy up. I know you're glad to see him, but he does need to breathe." Vanilla gently added, and Cream got off of him and helped him up. Her eyes went to the bag of candy Tails had, but Tails spoke first.

"Thanks, Cream." Tails smiled and gently patted his fur back down. "But where's-?" Right on cue, Cheese flew in behind Cream, confused at the commotion.

"Chaooooooooo!" ("Hi, Tails!") Cheese also gave Tails a hug, which caused Tails to chuckle and pat Cheese on the head.

"Awww, hi, Cheese." Tails said. Vanilla then remembered Amy's large suitcase.

"Are you going on a trip somewhere, Amy? That's an awful lot of things for one suitcase."

"Well. . . that's kinda why I came here, Miss Vanilla. . ." She looked at the ground and sighed.

"What's wrong, Amy?" Cream spoke up, stepping closer, so she was a few inches from Amy. Amy took a deep breath.

"Well. . ." She found it difficult to start, but she soon told them everything that happened during and after meeting Sonic near the edge of town. Cream was shocked not only by Sonic's behavior, but at her spending the night at Tails's house instead of at hers. Amy was a frequent guest and close friend of Cream's, and Cream looked up to her like a big sister. Cream had tears in her eyes by the end of the story.

"I can't believe Sonic would do something like that. . . but at least he was sorry and you forgive him. . ." Cream tried for a smile, but couldn't do it. She turned to Tails. "Thank you for taking care of her, Tails, you're really nice. . ." She shyly looked away, as did Tails.

"Aww, it was nothing , Cream. . . I'm just glad she's okay. . ." Tails muttered.

"So, Miss Vanilla, is it all right if I stay here, at least for tonight?" Amy could barely look up to meet Vanilla's eyes.

"Of course, dear. Will you be staying, too, Tails?" Vanilla glanced at Tails, and Cream looked hopeful.

"No, sorry. . . I need to get back to work. . . I didn't get much done while Amy was over. . ." Tails stepped back slightly, and Cream looked sad as she heard the news, but nodded in acceptance. She ran up to Tails and hugged him tightly, and whispered into his ear.

"Are. . . you. . . okay. . .?" There was a lot of urgency in her voice, clearly saying each word, speaking as though Tails was on the brink of death.

"Yeah. . . yeah, Cream. I'm fine. I'm sorry. . . I made you worry. I didn't know how to tell you anything. But I'm much better now, thanks to Amy." Tails also spoke quietly, but everyone was paying attention, and they all heard him. Amy beamed at the compliment, and Vanilla looked concerned, but Tails continued to speak. "Oh, and. . . this is for you. . . I hope it makes up for me being, well, away for all that time." He handed her the bag of candy, and she took it, smiling and hugging him again.

"Thank you, Tails. . ." She muttered, gently nuzzling his fur, causing him to blush. Tails tried to say something else, but merely stuttered.

"Cream, dear, why don't you let him go now? It was wonderful seeing you again, Tails, you look so happy now. . ." Vanilla smiled and Tails smiled back, giving a polite bow to Vanilla, which she returned.

"Th-Thank you, Miss Vanilla." He gave Cheese a friendly hug, then Amy a friendly hug that was held longer than usual, then he waved goodbye to everyone and left. They all waved and bid him farewell.

"Amy, why don't you go to our guest bedroom and unpack? Then you can Cream can catch up on things. . . oh, we just finished dinner before you arrived, are you hungry, dear?" Vanilla turned towards the kitchen.

"I will. And, no, thank you, I made Tails those enchiladas that Ella used to make. We ate just before we left to come here." Amy took her suitcase into the guest room, accompanied by Cream, who closed the door after the two of them entered. "Thank you both so much for taking me in. It's been a rough couple of days, and I'm glad you two can help me with this. . ." Amy began humming a tune to herself as she unpacked. Cream, however, stood at the door, looking serious. She hadn't moved since the two of them got into the room. "Cream? What is it?"

"Amy. . . we need to talk. . ."


	3. Deceit Within Deceit

I don't know why, but I just can't seem to stop writing this thing. _ Guess that's a good sign, though.

I think I'm getting a pretty good number of hits for my first "real" story, but no actual reviews yet. So, guys and gals, am I doing it right? Any ideas/thoughts you want to bring up, either for this, or something else you want to see? If so, just let me know.

SEGA owns all the characters. Even the adorable little chao.

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"Wh-What's up, Cream?" Amy was nervous, having never heard Cream sound so serious. Amy decided to sit down on the bed, looking at Cream intently. Cream walked over to the bed, huffing, and sat beside Amy, looking at the floor.

"Are you and Tails d-d-dating?" Cream could barely get the word out of her mouth without crying. She had always had a crush on Tails, and not seeing him for so long only strengthened those feelings.

"What? No! He's just a good friend. . ." Amy was enthusiastic, and this helped put Cream at ease.

"Do you think he likes you. . .?" Cream was still nervous, as she had seen how close the two were, and knowing Amy spent the night at Tails's place didn't help her calm down.

"No, Cream. . . I don't think he's. . . ready yet. . ." Amy sighed and put her hand on Cream's shoulder. "But he seems to be acting normal now. . ." She leaned up to Cream's ear and whispered excitedly, as if she was telling a huge secret. "But I've teased him a bit, and he always lights up like a Christmas tree when I mention you. . ." She giggled, which made Cream smile.

"Amy! Why would you tease poor Tails like that?" Cream playfully reprimanded, sticking her tongue out.

"Well, Cream. . ." Amy played along, acting shamed. "I know how unhappy Tails was after Cosmo's death. . ." Cream frowned at the mention of Cosmo, as the two had grown close during their adventures. "And I just want to see him happy, just like you do. . . and the best way I've found to be happy is to love. And if the person you love loves you back, it's the best feeling in the world. . ." Amy clasped her hands together and her eyes went wide. Cream smiled and giggled at Amy's sudden change in demeanor.

"I want to see him happy, too, Amy. . . and he seems to be back to his old self. . ." Cream smiled and then mumbled. "He's even cuter now. . ." She blushed, and Amy laughed.

"See, Cream? Everything will turn out okay." Amy turned and hugged Cream, and Cream returned the hug. "He's a lot happier now, and I know he's happy to see you again. You just need to tell him how you feel."

"But how do I do that, Amy? I always get so nervous around him. . ."

"And he's just as nervous around you, Cream. . . but if you both like each other, you'll find a way to make it work. Maybe I can help you out. . ." Amy winked, Cream nodded, and the two began to plot ways to get Tails and Cream together.

Tails had flown home as fast as he could. His mind was in a fog; the last few days had taken quite a toll on him. He entered his house and flopped onto the couch, running over everything that happened. The situation with Sonic seemed to be mostly resolved, and he was glad it went so well, as he thought it was his greatest source of stress. His thoughts, however, strayed from Sonic to Amy. He had wanted her to be safe, and happy, but after Amy's conversation with Sonic, he always imagined himself being her savior. She had helped Tails through his depression more than his therapist had, because he had trusted her so much, he told her things no one else knew, and she stayed by his side and helped him as best she could. He always wanted her around, and he was happy to be with her, but did that mean he loved her? The word seemed so foreign to him after Cosmo, and he started to get nervous just thinking about it, so he avoided the topic altogether, opting to work on making blueprints and inventions instead. He worked slowly, getting distracted by thoughts of Amy. He got back on task, telling himself she would show up tomorrow. He managed to get a few things done the rest of the day, and went to bed rather late after nearly falling asleep at his desk.

Amy and Cream woke up the next morning with devious grins on their faces. They talked about plans for Tails, caught up with how they were doing, and shared a bit of gossip before turning in for the night. Vanilla had agreed to let Amy and Cream visit Tails after Amy had asked, saying she didn't want to stay at any one place too long and be a burden. Vanilla had asked Amy to stay longer out of politeness, and said that Amy was always welcome back if she needed it. Cream showed Amy a shortcut to Tails's house that she had discovered, allowing them to get there on foot in about one hour, rather than two. Cream had brought some sandwiches and other food in a picnic basket, hoping the three of them could have lunch together. Near the end of the journey, Cream saw some beautiful flowers and picked them, making them into a bouquet with Amy's help. Cheese joined them, picking a flower for himself along the way, flying around and happily waving it over his head as the three of them walked.

Tails woke up later than usual. He was a bit startled until he realized he had fallen asleep at his desk. He sighed and looked at the clock. He was up really late, and only got about five hours of sleep. He knew Amy had promised to come over today, but he didn't know when. After a quick shower and some food, he waited around for Amy, getting more and more nervous with each minute. The thoughts he had from last night were creeping into his head again. He hoped he could get some help to sort out his conflicting thoughts. He tried to distract himself by thinking about Cream. He still felt bad for avoiding her, but he thought she had forgiven him. He had had a crush on her before he met Cosmo, but now, he couldn't think about Cream as a potential love interest. Something deep down wouldn't let him think about anyone in that way. He started to try to reason it out again when he heard a knock at the door. He jumped up and ran to the door. "It must be Amy!" He said quietly to himself, but was confused when he saw someone else at the door. "Sonic?"

"Hey, Tails. How's it going?" Sonic was looking much better now. Tails thought he looked just like his old self again; like nothing ever happened. Sonic didn't know Tails knew about what he did to Amy, and Tails wanted to keep that a secret.

"I'm fine, Sonic, just slept in for a bit."

"You have anyone over recently?" Tails blinked, knowing he shouldn't tell him about Amy stopping by. Amy made sure Sonic didn't know about going over to help Tails; she didn't want to worry him as well, and Sonic came by on his own time to try to help Tails. Tails talked to Sonic, and Sonic did help him get better, but Tails preferred Amy's company to his.

"No, why?"

"Huh. I thought for sure Cream would try to stop by. . ." Sonic smirked, which caused Tails to roll his eyes. Cream had tried to come by Tails's house, but Tails was either not around, or hiding and pretending he wasn't home. He felt bad about it, but he thought it was better than having her see him like he was.

"No, no one's been around. . ." Tails shrugged.

"So what have you been up to, then?"

"Working on inventions, the usual."

"Huh. Hey, you mind if I come inside for a minute? I wanna ask you something. . ." Sonic glanced around nervously, and he saw the last thing he wanted to see. Amy and Cream had arrived at Tails's house, chatting away, but Amy froze up, and Cream nearly dropped her bouquet when she saw both of them.

"Sonic?" Amy looked at the pair, her jaw dropped.

"Sonic!" Cream gasped, and both of them ran towards Sonic and Tails.

"Cream! A-Amy!" Sonic couldn't help but stutter at seeing Amy again. Amy stopped a few feet away from Sonic, and put a hand on her hip.

"How's it going, So-nic?" Amy stressed his name, showing that she was still a bit upset with him.

"Just. . . just fine, Ames." Sonic looked nervous at seeing her again. Cream and Tails stepped towards him, hoping they wouldn't have to separate the two. Cheese felt the tension in the air and flew behind Cream to hide.

" Oh, really?" She smiled, but shot him an icy glare. Sonic's head dropped down and he sighed.

"You know how bad I feel, Amy. . ." He glanced at Cream and Tails, then looked Amy in the eyes. "I'm really sorry. . ." He cringed as he met her glare.

"I know. . ." She spoke softly, then smiled, stepping towards Sonic and hugging him. Sonic started to back away, but he froze when Amy hugged him.

"A-Ames. . . what's going on?" His hands were shaking involuntarily. He wanted to hug her back, but was too shocked to do so right then.

"Now I KNOW you're sorry. . . you were scared, but still looked me right in the eye and told me your feelings. . . the courage of a true hero. . ." At this point, Sonic slowly put his arms around Amy.

"So. . . we're cool now, right?" Sonic was still nervous and glanced around, thinking he would see Amy's trademark hammer somewhere. He only saw Cream and Tails, both with stunned looks on their faces. Even though they both knew about all this, Amy's behavior had scared them, too.

"We're still friends, but I still want some time apart. . ." Amy pulled away and smiled. Cream gasped, but covered her mouth afterwards. Sonic nodded.

"Okay. . . I gotta get out of here now, I promised I'd meet Princess Sally for lunch. . ." Amy shot him a suspicious glance. "It's just business. . . geez, Amy. . ." Sonic rolled his eyes, and Amy giggled.

"I'm just messing with you Sonic, have fun!" Amy smiled, and Tails stepped forward.

"Sonic, didn't you want to talk to me about something?" He asked.

"No need, Tails. Good to see you again, though!" Sonic smiled, waved goodbye, and then dashed off. Tails figured out what Sonic wanted to talk about, and was glad that this conversation resolved everything. Amy turned to Tails.

"That went well." She smiled at him, and he smiled back. "I came by to visit, Tails," She playfully lowered her voice to a whisper and put her hand up to block her mouth, as though telling Tails a secret. "And Cream has something for you. . ." She pointed at Cream, but the bouquet was easily visible, as was the picnic basket.

"Th-These are for you, T-Tails. . ." Cream stepped forward nervously and handed him the bouquet. "A-And I thought the three of us could have lunch together outside. . ." She blushed, holding the basket up to her face to try to hide it. Cheese flew out from behind Cream and looked around for somewhere to eat.

"Wow. . . thanks, Cream. . . it's beautiful. . ." Tails smiled and blushed at the gift. "Where did you want to. . ." He saw Cream run off to a nearby hill, more out of embarrassment than wanting to eat. Cheese was close behind. ". . .eat?" He followed her, and Amy ran after the three of them.

The four of them sat down on the hill, looking up at the clear sky and bright sun. Amy helped Cream and Cheese get the food out. The food was covered by a blanket, and Cream spread it on the ground, so everyone could sit comfortably. After the sandwiches were passed around, Cream happily sat beside Tails, and Cheese playfully sat on Tails's head, which made him laugh. Cream scooted closer to Tails and spoke first.

"S-So Tails. . . what are you doing these days?"

"Oh, I'm mostly just working on my inventions. I'm trying to make planes that don't use as much fuel and cause as much smoke, so they're better for the environment."

"That's great, Tails!" Cream hugged him happily, which made him blush.

"Thanks for the delicious lunch, Cream." Amy said, then turned to Tails. "Tails, you should cook next time."

"M-Me?" Tails looked shocked.

"Yeah. . . you kept talking about cooking yesterday, so I know you're pretty handy in the kitchen." She grinned. "Why don't you make something for the three of us sometime soon?" Amy leaned towards him not willing to let this go. Cream looked excited by this, and Cheese gave a happy "Chao!" and began to play with Tails's fur, right behind his ears.

"O-Okay. . . gah! That tickles, Cheese!" Tails was laughing at Cheese's antics, and Chese flew back over to Cream, hovering above her left shoulder. Amy laughed as well.

"It's settled, then. Tails, why don't you bake a cake, like you were talking about?" Amy grinned at him.

"Sure. . ." Tails didn't mind more company, and he already agreed to making the cake anyways. "Maybe later, okay?" Amy and Cream nodded at this.

"I didn't know you could cook so well, Tails!" Cream looked a bit shocked, but still happy.

"Yeah, Tails here is getting to be quite the catch!" Amy winked at Tails, who blushed and looked down at the blanket. "So, Cream, how about coming back later tonight to have some chocolate cake with us? Tails and I got the ingredients while we were out shopping the other day." Tails turned to Amy and looked a bit stunned. He didn't know she planned for that to happen, but he didn't check what she bought. Tails ate quickly to avoid having to answer, but Cream smiled.

"I'd love to! Chocolate cake is my favorite!" Even Cheese smiled at the thought. "What are you going to do today, though, Amy? Are you going to try to talk to Sonic again?" The rest of them fell silent at the mention of Sonic's name.

"I'm not sure, yet, Cream. . ." She thoughtfully put her finger on her chin. Tails was unable to hide the pleading look in his eyes. He silently begged for Amy's company, as being around Cream made him nervous, but Cream thought he wanted her to be with him. "I do need to drop my things off at Tails's house, though. . ." Tails nodded, using a half-eaten sandwich to hide his smile. "Maybe you can go back to your house for your baking molds, Cream, and I'll get settled him and see if he's any good at baking?" The plans Cream and Amy had made together last night were going well. Amy had tried to point out some of Tails's strengths that Cream didn't know about, with Cream around so Tails couldn't deny what Amy was saying. In addition, Cream wasn't going back to get baking molds for Tails, but some handmade candies and gifts that the three of them couldn't have carried along with their other things.

"Okay. I'll be back soon, Tails!" Cream hugged him, as did Cheese, and the two ran off. Tails waved goodbye and picked up the bouquet Cream brought for him.

"Umm. . . shall we go in, Amy?" Tails was blushing deeply from being alone with Amy while holding Cream's gift.

"Sure, Tails. . ." Amy giggled. The two walked up together, and Tails opened the door, gesturing for Amy to go in first. "Aww, such a gentleman. . ." She gave a slight bow of thanks and walked in, placing her suitcase upstairs. Tails closed the door behind him, placing the flowers on the table. His heart had started pounding when he thought of what happened during the picnic. He was nervous from all the attention he had gotten, and he wanted to be alone with Amy so badly. He felt safe when she was around him. As much as he tried to rationalize it, whenever she was gone, he missed her and wanted her company, either in person or on the phone. Even thinking that she would call or visit would seem to calm him down. He walked to the couch and sat down, closing his eyes and taking some deep breaths to calm himself down.

During this time, Amy had put her suitcase upstairs and opened it, a bit of perfume accidentally spraying her as the sprayer fell onto the edge of the suitcase. She decided to wait until later before unpacking, wanting to talk to Tails about making the cake for later that night. She was in a playful mood, and decided to sneak up on Tails, moving quietly down the stairs. She saw Tails sitting still and noticed his deep breaths. She sighed to herself, thinking that Tails was a bit tired from lack of sleep, and a bit flustered from Cream's flirting. Her playful side came back, though, a grin showing on her face as she nearly tackled Tails into the back of his couch while she hugged him.

"YAH!" Tails's eyes opened wide at this. _This is how Sonic must feel, _he thought to himself. His head moved forward and gently nestled itself on Amy's shoulder. His deep breaths continued, and he got a strong whiff of Amy's perfume, which made her smell like roses. _Whoa, my head's spinning. . ._

"Tee-hee! You're so cute and innocent, Tails. . ." She held him gently. "Thank you so much for talking to Cream again. . . she really missed you. . . and thanks again for letting me stay with you. . . you're a great friend, Tails. . ."

Tails heard her speak, but her perfume was overpowering him. Combined with his thoughts of her from the last two days, and the lack of sleep, he could barely handle it. He started to shake in Amy's arms.

"Tails? Tails!" Amy was worried when he felt him shake, and soon felt him crying into her shoulder. She gripped him tightly. "TAILS!" She had seen him do this before when he was depressed and overwhelmed, and she tried to snap him out of it.

Tails knew Amy was there, but he was trapped in his own mind at the moment. All he could think of was Amy. His heart sped up, and he began to sweat, but tears were still falling from his eyes. He always wanted to be with her, to help her, to protect her. She always made him happy when he was sad. He couldn't bear it, and his own thoughts rang louder in his head than Amy's scream, even though her lips were inches from his ear. _I. . . I've felt this before. . . but. . .it can't be. . . it's not possible. . ._

Upon Amy screaming his name a second time, Tails fainted, slumping into Amy's arms.


	4. All Similes Are Like Metaphors

Merry Christmas! Internet problems mean I'll barely get this up in time to say that, but oh, well.

Thank you to the person who reviewed my last chapter! (I won't say usernames by default, if you want me to, let me know.) Good to know this is of good quality and pretty much doing what I intended to do with it.

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Tails slowly opened his eyes, barely able to focus. Everything was hazy at first. The shapes he saw were blurred, but he could hear two excited voices.

"He's awake!" Cream was right by his bed, jumping with joy and shouting. Amy rushed over to him and gave him another bone-crushing hug.

"Oh, Tails! Are you all right? I'm so sorry!" Amy sounded hysterical, but let go after she realized she might be hurting him even more.

"What happened?" Tails took a deep breath and rubbed his head.

"Um. . . we were on the couch talking. . . and you started shaking. . . and then you passed out." Amy still sounded worried and was looking at the ground.

"Oh. . . right. . ." Tails looked nervous, then lowered his head. The last few seconds of consciousness he had on the couch played through his head again. Cream then thought of something.

"What were you two talking about?" Cream looked at Amy, confused.

"I was thanking Tails for letting me stay at his house. . . and for helping me with the whole Sonic thing. . ." Amy looked Cream in the eyes as she spoke, having calmed down a bit. Cream looked over to Tails, who nodded to confirm what Amy had said.

"I remember smelling roses. . . then my mind started racing, and I guess I passed out." Tails looked sheepishly between the two of them.

"Oh, that must have been my perfume. . ." Amy remarked. "I called Vanilla as soon as you collapsed. Cream was too far away, and I got so nervous after you collapsed, I forgot the path we took, so I couldn't find Cream. . ." She sighed and gently kicked the ground in shame. "I took you up to the guest room and watched over you until Cream got here. We made you some soup if you want to eat something. . ."

"I-I'm not hungry, thank you. . ." Tails lay back, still feeling stressed, but not sick.

"Okay. . . I'm going to go make some more food for us. . ." Amy sighed and left the room, closing the door behind her. Cream looked worried, tears starting to form in her eyes, and Cheese popped up from behind her.

"Tails?" Cream went up to Tails and gently hugged him, even wrapping her ears around him. "When you told me you were okay at my house. . . you weren't really okay. . . were you?" She gently sobbed into his shoulder. Tails frowned and hugged her back.

"I felt fine then, Cream. . ." Tails barely got the words out.

"Then was it the food? The flowers?" Cream kept trying to blame herself. Tails sighed, cursing himself in his mind. He avoided her and didn't tell her about the shock of losing Cosmo, so she didn't know a lot of what he was going through. He knew he wanted to explain to her, he just didn't want to scar her too much. Also, he didn't feel comfortable telling her everything, as Cream was a good friend of Cosmo's ,too, and Tails thought Cream liked him, so talking too much about a love lost might hurt her feelings more than help her through understanding.

"No, Cream. . . those were great. . . it's just. . ." He sighed. "After Cosmo died, I don't feel like I can love anyone anymore. You were really nice to me, and I know you like me. . ." At this, Cream smiled, but also blushed deeply. "And I want to learn how to like someone and care for someone like you do, but right now I just. . . don't remember how to do that. I think that. . . if I like someone, they'll get taken away from me, like Cosmo was. . ." Tails couldn't look at Cream at all during this.

"Tails. . . I'm not Cosmo. . . it's going to be okay. . ." Cream held him close, and Tails weakly returned the hug. This made Tails feel better, but all these thoughts of caring, friendship, and even love, either made him think of Amy, or were blocked out by the traumatized parts of his mind. Just then, they heard a knock on the door, which made Cream jump off of Tails. Cheese flew and unlocked the door, letting Amy in.

"Tails? Do you think you could show me where some stuff is in your kitchen?" Amy asked before looking around, and seeing Cream already blushing, and Tails getting a blush on his face after he thought about what was about to happen before Amy came in.

"O-Okay. . ." Tails sighed and sat up. He slowly got out of bed, but felt dizzy upon standing, and Cream moved over to steady him. "Sorry. . ." He blinked and took a deep breath to calm himself down, then walked down to the kitchen, with Amy leading the way. Cream watched him walk away, staying in the room. She quietly closed the door after Amy left, and went back to sit in the chair she brought up into the room. She lowered her head and started to cry. It took enough out of her to admit her feelings to Tails, but for him not only to say that he didn't feel the same, for him to say that he didn't feel that way about anyone, was more than she could take. Cheese hugged her and tried to calm her down, but Cream wasn't hearing any of it at the moment.

Tails looked around the kitchen with a small amount of wonder. Amy had enough ingredients and cooking tools out to feed everyone in their core group of friends. "Wow, Amy, what's all this for?"

"Oh. . . you know cooking always made me feel better. . . it did for you, too, if I recall. You want to cook with me?" Amy turned back towards the stove to hide her blush.

"Um. . . sure. . ." Tails nodded after hesitating. He was still confused, but well enough to do something simple like cooking. It might even help him make some sense of what was going on. He started to look over everything when Amy paused and looked around the room.

"Tails, where's Cream?" Amy looked inquisitive, and started to pace around the kitchen.

"She's not down here?" Tails blinked and turned around, his eyes sweeping the room. "I guess she's still upstairs. . ."

"I'm going to check on her, okay? She was so scared when she heard about you. . ." Amy bolted upstairs before Tails could respond, so he merely nodded and went back to looking at what they had in front of them. Amy had planned to make five different dishes, each enough to feed at least three people. Tails sighed as he read everything over.

Amy knocked on the door, heard no response, and entered. "Cream?" She looked over and saw Cream hunched over, tears falling from her face. "Cream!" She nearly shouted, but didn't want to alert Tails. She ran over to Cream and hugged her. "What is it, Cream?"

"H-H-He s-s-said. . ." Cream sniffled, and Cheese tried his best to calm her.

"What did he say. . .?" Amy was worried, and starting to wonder if Tails would have to get a taste of her hammer.

"He. . . he knows. . . b-but. . . he doesn't like me. . ." Cream took a deep breath and stopped crying.

"Did he say why?" Amy was disappointed, but she knew exactly why he didn't feel that way.

"A-After Cosmo. . . he said he forgot how to love. . ." Cream sighed, and Amy frowned and shook her head.

"I'm sorry, Cream. . ." Amy thought for a moment about how to help Cream understand what Tails was going through. "Cream, you remember those flower crowns you always make?"

"Mm-hmm. . ."

"When you take out those flowers, they can't grow anymore, and the ground they were in becomes empty, right?"

"Yeah. . ."

"And what do you do when that happens?"

"I. . . I plant new seeds there, so the beautiful flowers can grow back. . ."

"Exactly. Right now, Tails is an empty patch of dirt after having Cosmo taken away from him. We need to plant seeds of love into him, and care for and nurture them, and then he'll be able to love again, good as new. Maybe even better." Cream nodded and smiled at Amy's analogy, and Amy had her trademark sparkle in her eyes.

"But how do we do that, Amy?"

"Well. . . we have to show him there are people out there that care for him. . . and with a bit of a push, over time, those thoughts of caring will turn into thoughts of love." Amy smiled and pulled away from Cream.

"Are you sure, Amy?" Cream was hesitant to believe what Amy said after she knew Tails had fainted. Amy took Cream's hands and nodded.

"Of course, Cream. Even though he's had a rough couple of days, I think he's doing much better now. We just have to keep supporting him and being there for him."

"Thanks, Amy." Cream wiped the tears from eyes and hugged Amy. Amy hugged Cream, then quickly walked out the door.

"I got enough food out for a huge feast down there, Cream, I want to see how Tails is handling cooking that much food."

"Can Cheese and I help, too?"

"Of course! We need all the help we can get, cooking this much, come on!" Amy beckoned for them to follow and the trio dashed downstairs. Tails was still looking over everything and trying to figure it all out.

"Why do we need to make all this food again, Amy?" Tails said absentmindedly, not even turning around to see that Cream had joined them.

"So you can have something good to eat later, silly!" Amy grinned. It wasn't exactly the truth, as they could have made a lot less and Tails would have enough for the three of them tonight and a few days afterwards. However, Amy and Tails made a pact that their pseudo-therapy sessions with each other would be done in confidence. Neither of them would speak about the other's problems or feelings to anyone else, unless it was a real emergency. Even though Tails had just explained some of his feelings to Cream, neither he nor Amy wanted to tell Cream that things were any worse than they already are. "Cream's even going to help us! Right, Cream?"

"Mm-hmm!" Cream nodded. Her face and eyes were still red from crying, but her voice sounded normal. She looked at everything they had on the counter. "Gosh, you guys, you want to make all of this?"

"Yup! It'll be a challenge!" Amy balled her hands into fists. "You ready, Tails?"

"Ready!" Tails sounded enthusiastic, even though he was a bit nervous. If Amy wanted to make all of this for just three people, then something was wrong. He knew she was concerned for him after seeing him faint, but he couldn't help but think there was something else bothering her.

The four of them went to work. Even Cheese had a hand in the meal through tossing the salad to mix it up. He was flying around the room while he worked, with happy "Chao"s coming from him every few seconds. Cream was working on three different kinds of sauces, Tails was preparing and seasoning the meat, and Amy was getting all the side dishes in order. All of them were good at cooking, though, and a couple of hours later they had more beef, pork, rice, potatoes, and salad in front of them than they knew what to do with. Three of them were a bit worn out when they sat down to eat, but Cheese was still enjoying himself by flying around the house.

"Come here, Cheese!" Cream giggled, and Cheese went back to hovering over her shoulder. "Thank you so much for letting me stay for dinner, Tails!"

"Oh. . ." Tails blushed as he remembered why she came over in the first place. "You're welcome, Cream. Let's eat!"

The four of them began to eat, with Cream putting some of the food on her plate aside for Cheese. After all the work they did cooking, they were pretty hungry. They were so busy eating that they didn't talk much, but near the end of the meal, Cheese flew down to get some food too quickly, and hit the edge of the plate. Even though there wasn't much food on it, it flew backwards and crashed against the ground. "Oh, gosh! I'm so sorry, Tails!" Cream looked mortified, and Cheese looked ashamed, tears in his eyes.

"It's okay, Cream, I'll clean it up." Tails jumped out of his chair and dashed to the broom and dustpan he kept in the kitchen. Amy got up and followed him, and Cream and Cheese went over to gather up the pieces. Amy glanced over at Cream and Cheese to make sure they weren't looking, then leaned close to Tails and whispered to him as Tails went to grab the broom.

"I need to talk to you, Tails." Amy covered her mouth with her hand. Tails jumped slightly, but nodded. "Alone." Tails made a bit of an effort to get the broom so he could stay behind with Amy and respond.

"We can't just ask Cream to leave, that's rude. . ." He covered his mouth as well, but spoke quickly, as Cream was almost done gathering some of the plate up.

"Then take her home. Please, Tails?" There was urgency in her eyes. Tails knew this was serious, and he probably knew what it was about. He sighed and nodded again.

"Okay. . . after we clean all this up. . ." He grabbed the broom and dustpan, heading over to help Cream clean up. Cheese helped by taking the dustpan from Tails and emptying it into the trash. Cheese frowned and gave a sad "Chao" as an apology. Tails patted Cheese on the head and smiled. "Don't worry about it, Cheese." He then looked over at the food. "We need to put all this in the fridge now. . ." Everyone nodded and quickly went to help.

They all put the food away in silence. Amy thought for a moment before talking to Cream. "Cream, it's getting late, and your mom's probably worried about you. How about we take you home?" She suggested sweetly. Cream pouted as she looked at Amy, but then turned towards Tails.

"Are you sure you're okay, Tails?" Cream looked at Tails with eyes that contained both sadness and hurt feelings. She was a bit angry with Tails, between being turned down by him and hearing that he fainted after he told her he was fine. Even though he wasn't being himself, she wanted to get to know the person Tails had become after Cosmo's death, and to get him to open up his heart again, but that would require quite a bit of caring and patience. Cream had both of these in spades, and combined with her personal reasons for helping him, she didn't want to leave him now.

"I'll be okay. . ." Tails gave a smile that wasn't exactly convincing. He was fine now, but he was thinking about what Amy wanted to discuss with him in private. "And even if something happens, Amy's going to be over, and she'll help me. . ."

"Why can't it be ME?" Cream stamped her foot and shouted the last word, which caused everyone else to freeze. "I want to help you, too, Tails, and you won't let me!" She had tears in her eyes, and Tails ran over and hugged her. It took him a moment to find something to say.

"But you did help me, Cream. . . you always cared about me, you came by to have lunch with me, and when I wasn't feeling well, you watched over me and helped me get better. . ." Tails chose his words carefully, hoping they'd be enough to calm Cream down.

"But I want to really help you, Tails. . . I know you're hurting. . . please let me help. . ." Cream spoke between sobs. Tails lowered his head. He knew he'd have to reveal something he rather wouldn't, but he didn't want to lose Cream as a friend.

"Cream. . .?" Tails said quietly. A soft noise of approval from Cream made him continue. "I thought that. . . if I really told you what I was going through. . . you'd feel sad again. . . or maybe, you'd be afraid of me or not like me. . . and I didn't want to do that to you. . ." Cream pulled away and looked him in the eyes, even though tears were still streaming down her face.

"I'd never be sad or afraid or not like you, Tails. . ." Cream took a deep breath before continuing. "If I felt sad, I'd just remember I was helping a friend feel better, and then I'd feel better. You've been through a lot, Tails, but I wouldn't be afraid because deep down, you'd still be Tails." She tried to smile, but her mouth barely moved. "No matter what you think, I want to help, Tails, and I'll do whatever it takes to get you to smile and laugh again, like you used to before. . . she left us. . ." She solemnly bowed her head out of respect for both Tails and the late Cosmo.

Tails could only tighten his embrace and give a weak smile. About ten seconds later, he found his voice. "Thank you, Cream. . ." It was so soft that Amy, a couple of feet away, couldn't hear him. He was grateful Cream cared about him so much, and although her earlier confession of her feelings, combined with this of her sympathy, made him more at ease to talk with her like he did with Amy, he had some new concerns. The most pressing of this was how to get Amy alone to talk with her, and how to tell Cream what he had experience since Cosmo's death. He knew the latter would likely be harder, as he wasn't sure how to bring up the topic of a lost loved one to someone who loves him now. He would also have to take things slow when talking to her about it so as not to burden her with too much sorrow at once. His mind went back to the former issue, though, and he pulled away from Cream. "I promise I'll talk to you about this soon, okay?"

"Are. . . are you sure, Tails?" Cream looked apprehensive, but Tails nodded.

"I'll make sure he does, Cream, don't worry." Amy chose this moment to interject. Her hands were linked together and her arms were at her waist, as if she were still unsure whether or not to speak. She still wanted to speak with Tails, but she was happy that the two of them had grown closer. "Now, it's getting late, and I'm sure your mother's worried about you. How about we have Tails here take you home, Cream?" Amy almost asked to go with them, but she didn't want to interrupt their bonding any more than she already had.

"Would you please take me in the Tornado, Tails?" Cream asked. Even though her ears could allow her to fly, it was nothing like being up in the air with Tails.

"Sure, Cream, let's go." Tails ran to the hangar and motioned for her to follow. Cream nodded and ran behind him, and Amy breathed a sigh of relief. There wasn't anything else to do, so she went upstairs to her guest room after she saw the two of them leave. She looked out the window to make sure Tails and Cream left, and sure enough, she saw them going away about a minute later.

Once Tails reached cruising altitude, he set the autopilot to head to Cream's house. He noticed the oranges, pinks, and purples of a gorgeous sunset, then turned back to Cream. "Hey, Cream, check out the view." Cream's hands were pressed against the window as she leaned towards the cockpit, her face already inches from the glass.

"It's beautiful, Tails!" Cream said excitedly. Cheese flew around and voiced his agreement, which made Tails smile.

"I knew you'd like it."

"Tails, do you think we could sit out one night and watch the stars?"

"Sure. Maybe some other night, though. It's been a bit of a rough day. . ." Tails felt sad and a bit guilty afterwards. Even though he fainted, he knew Cream had the worst day out of everyone, between worrying about him and being rejected by him.

"Yeah. . . but tomorrow will be better!" Cream's optimism surprised Tails at first, but then he smiled along with her. He thought that, maybe, Cream just wanted to be closer to him. Rather than being loved by him, she would settle for things going back to how they were. Truth be told, Cream was a bit lonely. Even though she had her mother and Cheese for comfort and companionship, Tails and Amy were her closest friends, and she didn't want to lose either of them.

"I'm sure it will be, Cream." Tails sighed happily as he saw Cream's house from above. Tails knew the shortcut Cream took between their houses, so he flew along that path, and was there within a couple of minutes. "Hang on, we're about to land."

"Wheeeeeeee!" Cream squealed as they descended, her arms holding onto Cheese, who gave his own squeal of delight and held his arms over his head. Tails laughed at their antics, but soon turned off the autopilot and became focused on landing, as landing in this tight of a space was too difficult for the autopilot to do.

After a safe landing, the trio left the craft, taking one last look to admire the sunset before knocking on the door.

"Oh, hello, Tails! And welcome back, Cream!" Vanilla had been watching the two of them outside, so she was right by the door when Tails knocked. Her eyes never left Tails's. "Amy called and told me what happened, are you all right?"

"I'm fine, Miss Vanilla. Cream was very kind and helpful." Tails looked down, and Cream blushed at the compliment.

"You're such a nice boy, Tails." Vanilla giggled. She nearly made a comment about how Tails could easily make a good husband, but stopped herself. Cream told Vanilla the whole story of what happened aboard the Blue Typhoon the day after they all got back. Just like Cream, Vanilla hadn't seen him for months before this week, and he seemed almost back to his old self. "Would you like to come in for something to eat? Maybe some tea?"

"Oh, no thank you, Miss Vanilla. We ate just before we left." Tails moved his head up slightly, but still didn't meet her eyes.

"Tails is a very good cook." Cream added quietly, but both of them heard, and Tails blushed.

"Well, you helped, too, Cream." Tails was even more quiet. Everyone was silent for a few seconds before Vanilla spoke.

"Thank you for bringing Cream home, Tails." She then turned to Cream. "Come on, dear, let's go." Cream nodded and walked to her mother's side, then looked at Tails.

"Thank you for having me over, Tails." Cream bowed lightly, and Tails bowed in return.

"Thank you for taking care of me and helping me cook." Tails turned and dashed back into the Tornado. As he hopped in, Vanilla smiled and looked down at Cream.

"Just as shy as ever. . ." Vanilla smiled as she walked inside with Cream.

Amy had spent most of the time Tails was away laying back on the bed and thinking. She was doing what she thought was best for Tails, and even though Amy could be a bit overzealous sometimes, she wondered if she went too far this time. Even though her plans looked like they worked, Tails wasn't receiving the attention well. Add to that Tails rejecting Cream, and Amy thought she might have sabotaged their friendship completely if not for some quick thinking by Tails. After a few minutes, she went up and walked downstairs, heading to the couch, so she could greet Tails as soon as he came inside. She felt terrible about him fainting, and blamed herself for it, as she was responsible for nearly everything that happened before Tails fainted. She ran over what she was going to say in her mind when she heard the hangar open to let in the Tornado. She waited for Tails to come in before patting the couch cushion next to her. She was looking away, both hands resting in her lap, and this only made Tails more nervous. He ran to the couch and sat down beside her. "What's wrong, Amy?"

"I'm really sorry, Tails. . .I made you faint. . . didn't I?" The last few moments of consciousness Tails had, complete with all the thoughts that were racing through his mind, came back to him. He knew why he fainted, but he didn't want to tell her why; he could barely believe it himself.

"Don't worry about it, Amy. . ." He hugged her, but Amy sighed at his lack of a denial. She felt horrible, but she at least wanted to understand what happened to him, so she wouldn't do it again.

"What did I do wrong, Tails?" Amy turned to look at him. There were tears in her eyes, and even though Tails was expecting something like that, he wasn't sure what to say right away. His pause gave Amy time to continue. "I mean. . . maybe it was wrong to try to get you and Cream together like that, but she loved you Tails, and I didn't want her to chase after you when you weren't interested in her, I wanted her to have an answer one way or the other. I know how much that hurts, Tails. . ." Tails gave a solemn nod, then reached over and gave her a gentle hug. He knew all too well about her prior infatuation with Sonic, and how much it really hurt her.

"Amy. . . it's okay. . . I know you didn't mean any harm by it. I just got overwhelmed, between seeing Cream for the first time in so long, the whole thing between you and Sonic, and. . ." Tails trailed off, trying to remember what he thought before he passed out.

"And what?" Amy was relieved, but curious as to what else Tails was thinking.

"I. . . I'm not sure how to explain it yet, Amy. . ." Tails had his last thoughts before he fainted running through his mind. He kept trying to deny it, to explain it to himself in any way other than he already had. He wasn't sure he was ready to admit it to himself, much less to anyone else, even Amy. He pulled away and looked at Amy, frowning when he saw her looking upset. "But when I do, you'll be the first to know, I promise. . ." Amy paused, then nodded. "It's been a crazy day, and I don't know about you, but I'm ready to turn in." A yawn from Amy just then drew a chuckle from Tails. "Come on, let's go." Amy didn't get up, but held him close instead, her rose perfume still making its way to Tails's nose.

After a deep breath and a long, quiet sigh, Tails gave up trying to lie to himself. He was thinking about it on and off ever since he woke up. His felt relieved after talking to Amy, and his worries from earlier today were all gone now. He sighed happily, and felt Amy slump against him. "Don't want to get up, huh, Amy?"

"Mm-mm." Amy shook her head, nuzzling into Tails's soft fur.

"I can handle that." Tails grinned and held her close to him. "Hold on." Tails stood up but still held onto her.

"Huh?" Amy was confused, but tightened her grip onto Tails. Tails jumped up and spun his tails, and soon he and Amy were hovering about a foot above the couch. "Wah! Tails!" She was surprised, but started to laugh after she realized what Tails was doing.

"What is it, Amy? Scared of heights?" Tails joked.

"No, Tails! I just didn't think you'd take it seriously." Amy laughed. Her legs were dangling under Tails, but Tails had his house constructed in such a way that he could use his tails to fly anywhere in the house if he had to. Neither of them were in any danger. With some careful maneuvering, the two of them got in the doorway, and he gently set her down on the bed. "You sound like you're feeling better, Tails." Amy smiled, and Tails nodded. For Tails to be this playful, she thought, he must have gotten over whatever had him worried earlier.

"Are you okay, Amy?" Tails looked down at her with concern.

"I'm fine, Tails, thank you." She leaned into Tails and held him close, and Tails did the same. "Good night."

"Good night, Amy." He slowly pulled away, then turned and walked out to hide the blush that appeared on his cheeks. He walked slowly down the stairs and back to his bed, with only one thought going through his head the whole time. It was what he had figured out right before he fainted, but wasn't willing to admit to himself until a few minutes ago.

_I'm in love with Amy Rose. . ._


	5. Sometimes, I troll

Happy New Year! Have another chapter!

SEGA owns the characters.

* * *

Tails got the best sleep he had in weeks. Everything that usually kept him up at night was either resolved, or was something that he was too tired to think about. He woke up and walked out to see Amy reading something and muttering to herself. "Amy?" He stopped a few steps from the couch, confused about what she was doing. "What's going on?"

This snapped Amy out of her focus on the book. She quickly closed it and put it behind her, but Tails saw a flash of red when she did so. He wondered why she would have her diary out, but those thoughts came to a halt when he saw her looking confused. "Oh, Tails. . . I know I've hurt you these past couple of days, and I wanted to make it up to you. . ." Tails blinked and opened up his mouth to protest, but Amy put her hand up to stop him. "So I'm going to treat you to dinner out somewhere. If you won't accept it as me making it up to you, then accept it as a thank-you for taking me in and helping me through all this." Tails closed his mouth and gave a shy nod.

"Where did you want to go, Amy?"

"Hmm. . ." Her confused look returned. "This is for you, Tails, is there somewhere you want to go?"

"Um, not really. . ." He rubbed the back of his head and gave a sheepish look, and Amy's eyes lit up.

"Then how about we go to Alejandro's?" Tails chuckled as he figured out that Amy already had somewhere in mind. It was a good restaurant, with a quiet, intimate atmosphere and great food. It was a bit expensive, but Amy easily had enough for two people.

"Sure, I've heard that's a good place." Tails nodded in agreement, even though he had never been. He wanted to go, but he wanted to go with someone, and he thought no one else would be interested until Amy asked him.

"Great! We'll leave at six, then!" Amy's eyes went wide, a big smile on her face. Tails nodded again, looking down as his stomach growled.

"How about I make us some leftovers?" Tails said as he glanced towards the kitchen.

"Okay, Tails, be right back." Amy ran back up to her room as Tails went to the kitchen. She looked over her things, humming to herself. She put her diary away, then looked over what she had brought with her. She had a crimson dress with her in case she had to go somewhere fancy, and Alejandro's certainly qualified. She laid out her perfume and lipstick and thought for a moment. _I'm just taking Tails out to have a good time. The poor guy really needs something like that. It won't be a real date, we'll just go as friends. Still, a girl's got to dress up nice and enjoy herself every once in a while._ She put her chosen outfit aside and giggled with anticipation, then walked back downstairs just in time to see Tails pull the food out of the microwave.

"Hey, Amy, have a seat." Tails said as he took the dishes out and put them on the table, which was set for two people. Amy sat down, and after Tails brought the last dish over, the pair began to eat. "I know it might be a bit dull if we stay here until we go out to dinner Amy, is there somewhere you want to go?" Amy thought for a moment.

"Hmmm. . ." She rested her chin in her hand. "How about we go to the Chao garden for a bit?" Amy loved to go there to have a relaxing afternoon. Cream worked there often, as she loved caring for and playing with Chao, and it also gave Cheese some friends to play with, but today was her day off. Amy and Tails knew this, and Amy didn't want to run into Cream there, preferring to give her some space after yesterday's events.

"Sure. . ." Tails was a bit nervous about meeting Cream there when he was with Amy, but he knew there was almost no chance he would. Even though he knew it would do him good to get out and relax a bit, he had a hard time motivating himself, choosing to stay inside and work most of the time to keep himself busy. Amy was the perfect motivation for him to go out and have fun, and his recent revelation about his feelings for her only made that more true.

"Great, we should have a few hours to spend there after lunch." Amy smiled and went back to her food. Tails ate slowly, turning to the window with a pensive look on his face. He couldn't hide his smile. He had fun playing with the Chao, too, mostly liking to fly around with them, and then he got to go out to dinner with Amy at a nice restaurant. He couldn't deny he had a good opportunity to tell her how he felt, and he wanted to make the most of it. He would still get nervous around Amy sometimes because of her overly friendly nature, but he felt the most relaxed around her because of how often they talked. "What is it, Tails?" Amy leaned towards him and smiled when she saw his smile. "Off daydreaming already?"

"Oh. . . um. . ." Tails turned back to Amy and blushed lightly, knowing she was right. "Do we need, uh, reservations for Alejandro's? Is there a dress code there?" He tried to recover, but Amy smirked.

"No, and no." Amy stood up and took her plate over, then washed it. Tails wasn't hungry anymore, so he did the same. "Do you want to head out now?"

"Um, give me a few minutes, okay?"

"Sure." Amy went to the bathroom to check herself in the mirror. She adjusted her headband, but other than that, she looked nice for a fun day out. Meanwhile, Tails was in his room, looking around to see if he wanted to bring anything along or wear anything during their visit to the Chao garden or dinner. He didn't do either, thinking that doing either of those things would feel a bit forced, and he would rather just be himself around Amy. Tails left his room to see Amy standing beside the couch. "Ready?" Tails nodded, and the two of them left in the Tornado.

The Chao garden was a bit isolated from the town. It wasn't a natural Chao garden, instead, it was more of a way to house the Chao that were displaced by the city's construction. A small park was built to keep the Chao in, and it replicated their natural habitat very well, and the workers there would feed and care for the Chao, letting visitors in during certain times so the Chao could play with them, and vice-versa. It took the pair about fifteen minutes to fly there, and Amy's eyes went wide once they got a view of the Chao from the air. Tails chuckled at Amy's enthusiasm as they landed, and she took his hand and ran inside, dragging him along. Tails gained his balance after stumbling, and they reached the front desk, where a raccoon named Sarah recognized the pair.

"Oh, hello, Tails, Amy!" She smiled at the two of them. "Cream's not here today, but have you come to see the Chao?"

"Mm-hmm!" Amy nodded, her eyes still wide, and glancing towards the Chao. As her eyes moved, she saw her hand still grabbing Tails's. "Oh, sorry, Tails. . ." She let his hand go, and looked down, which made Tails blush.

"It's okay. . ." Tails muttered, a bit flustered from Amy's shyness, the fact that he didn't want her to let go of his hand, and the look the two of them got from Sarah. Sarah kept quiet out of general courtesy, but the thought about the two of them possibly being a couple crossed her mind.

"Well, then, you're fine, go ahead in!" Sarah spoke loudly and smiled, getting the attention of both of them.

"R-Right, thanks!" Tails's eyes moved up to Sarah's, he gave a weak smile, and ran in behind Amy, who took off before Tails started to speak.

Amy went into the garden, which had some trees to grow the normal chao fruit, a waterfall that went into a pond, some rocks and hills, and a few toys for the Chao to play with. She sought out a particular Chao that was pink and had a red ball over her head instead of the normal yellow one, finding her on the rock formation beside the pool. The Chao in the garden didn't have names given to them; the visitors named them if they wanted, and the workers made up names to tell them apart. "Hello, Rosette!" Amy chuckled as she picked up the Chao, who gave her a hug and a happy "Chao!" of appreciation. The two of them bonded because they looked alike and were both very friendly. Amy hadn't become as good at understanding Chao as Cream had, but she could usually have a general idea of what Rosette was saying. Tails was right behind, with a few of the Chao that were throwing a ball around noticing him as soon as he walked in and waved to him. The Chao that had the ball held it up, asking if Tails wanted to play with them. He nodded and joined in their game of catch, which was made more interesting when, after one of the Chao flew up to catch the ball, each of the other Chao followed in turn, and then Tails flew up beside them. Tails wasn't a frequent visitor to the garden, but he found it a nice place to relax every once in a while. However, none of the Chao knew he could fly, so they were confused at first, with the balls over their heads becoming question marks until Tails started to fly around them, which made them applaud and cheer. They spent their time flying around while playing catch, with Tails playing the part of hero after the ball was thrown too hard and got wedged into the rock so hard that none of the Chao could pull it out. It took him a few tries, but Tails was able to pull it out, earning a cheer from the Chao in the game, from Amy down below, and from Rosette.

"He's such a nice guy, Rosette. . . and the two of us are going to go to dinner at one of the nicest places in the city tonight." Amy said excitedly. She loved talking with Rosette, even though Amy couldn't exactly understand her.

"Chao, chao!" Rosette cheered and pointed at Tails. "Chao, chao, chao?" The ball above her head became a heart, and Amy blushed.

"No, Rosette. . . he's just a good friend. . . he's been really nice to me, and I want to pay him back somehow."

"Chao!" Rosette nodded, but also gave a sly giggle.

"Oh, you. . ." Amy pulled Rosette into a close hug, which Rosette returned. "Come on, let's go for a walk!" The two stood up and wandered around the place, with Amy taking in the natural beauty of the place. She hadn't been in a while, so she wanted to see if there was anything new around the park. There wasn't much new, merely a couple of trees in different spots after the old ones had died, the rock formation around the pool was different, and the pool itself was larger, along with a couple more Chao. Some of the Chao had evolved into hero or dark Chao, but all of the Chao still got along. Most of them recognized Amy, who was a frequent visitor to the garden. Amy was still unsure about getting a Chao of her own for companionship. She usually preferred the company of Tails or Cream, but she would occasionally daydream about having a Chao of her own. She was in no place to do that at the moment, though, so she came to the garden if she wanted to see the Chao.

After some more playing and flying around, Tails was getting worn out. He didn't want to be too tired for their dinner together later that night, so he landed and looked around, finding Amy nearby. "Amy!" He waved, getting hers and Rosette's attention. "I wanted some time to get ready for dinner, how about we head home now?"

"Oh, sure, Tails!" Amy smiled, while Rosette looked Tails over. Rosette flew over and gave Tails a wave to greet him, followed by a hug, which Tails returned.

"Hey, there, you look just like Amy." Tails smiled and patted the Chao.

"Chao, chao!"

"I named her Rosette." Amy smiled proudly. "Isn't she cute?"

"Mm-hmm." Tails nodded, and Rosette's ball turned into a heart.

"Awww, she likes you!" Amy's hands clasped together, and her eyes twinkled. Rosette was clinging to Tails and nuzzling his fur. Tails looked down at Rosette and chuckled.

"It was nice meeting you, Rosette, but we have to go now. We'll come back later, okay?" Tails smiled, and Rosette nodded, giving them each a hug goodbye, then waved to both as they left.

"Wasn't that fun, Tails?" Amy asked as soon as they had left the building.

"Yeah, I haven't been there in so long, it was nice to relax for a bit. The Chao are so much fun to play with." Tails nodded.

The two of them entered the Tornado and flew back, talking about Chao the entire time. Tails was somewhat knowledgeable about Chao through talking with Cream so much, and Amy kept talking about taking Rosette home and keeping her sometime in the future. They landed and went inside with about an hour to go before they had to leave for Alejandro's. Tails turned and went into his room, while Amy went up to hers. Tails looked around his room for a moment, then caught sight of himself in the mirror he had. He looked okay, but he wanted to look his best for his night out. Even if it was closer to two friends hanging out together than an actual date, he still wanted to impress Amy. He ran to the downstairs bathroom and grabbed a quick shower, wanting to give enough time for his fur to dry properly. After plenty of drying and a bit of grooming in the bathroom, he smiled, pleased at how his efforts turned out. With about ten minutes left, he went into his room again and sat down on the bed, taking a deep breath and starting to psych himself up. _Come on, Tails, you HAVE to tell her! You can't let this chance slip away like you did with Cosmo. . . She would want me to be happy, and being with Amy makes me happy. I think I'm ready for this, I just hope she likes me back. . ._

Amy was upstairs, taking a shower as well, but she prepared herself a bit differently. She laid out her dress, lipstick , and perfume, delicately putting on each of them, using the bathroom's mirror when she needed to. After she was satisfied with her look, she playfully blew the mirror a kiss and giggled. "This is going to be so much fun!" She grinned and ran downstairs. Tails walked out of his room with a couple of minutes before they had to leave. His eyes went wide and his jaw dropped when he saw Amy.

"Amy. . . wow. . . you look amazing. . ." He had stopped in his tracks, his heart pounding as he looked her over. Amy gave a shy smile and giggled.

"Thank you, Tails. . . shall we go?" She extended her hand, and Tails hesitated before taking it, blushing as he finally took it.

"L-Let's." Tails smiled before walking to the Tornado with her. He motioned for Amy to sit down first, and she did so. He got in and took off, his excitement making him move, and fly, a little quicker than he usually would. Even though he had a map of the city programmed into the Tornado to help him out, Amy still gave him directions. Tails was grateful for this, as they made him focus on actually getting there, rather than thinking about how good Amy looked. They got there in twenty minutes, as Alejandro's was on the far side of town with respect to Tails's house. They got out, and Tails gently smoothed his fur in an attempt to look better, which made Amy giggle. They walked in side by side, and Tails looked around the place as they were escorted to their seats. The restaurant had a light over every table, and a few other lights scattered around, but none of them were very bright. There were wooden chairs with intricate designs carved on them, and wooden booths with comfortable seating. Almost no one else was there that night, and neither Tails nor Amy recognized anyone that was there. They sat in a booth near the entrance and looked through the menu. After a few minutes, Amy decided on some fettuccini alfredo with chicken, and Tails decided on some salmon in a lemon sauce with rice. The waiter gave them some water and rolls, and took the menus away. Tails looked at Amy and smiled, his Tails swishing back and forth quickly, which was a nervous tick of his. "S-So, how did you find out about this place, Amy?"

"Rouge took me here with Shadow, actually, about a month ago."

"Rouge took you here when she was already going with Shadow?" Tails scratched his head, confused.

"Yup." She leaned in and whispered the next part to Tails. "She told me that going somewhere with just Shadow had intimidated him, so she wanted to bring someone that would put him more at ease."

"Shadow gets intimidated by something?" Tails's eyes widened, and Amy laughed.

"I know why the poor guy was nervous. The evening out was nice, and the two of them started dating a week later."

"Huh?" Was all Tails could respond with. Amy talked more about herself and Tails when the two of them talked, so Tails was a bit behind in the town's latest goings-on.

"I know! Shadow seems to have opened up a bit since then, too. They're still a bit awkward together, but they're so cute!"

"That's great!" Tails was truly happy for both of them, and the fact that even Shadow, who was a bit rough around the edges, could find love, gave him some confidence. "How's Knuckles doing?"

"The usual. Guarding the master emerald from Rouge and other potential thieves." Amy shrugged. "Rouge does stop by just to chat from time to time."

"You know, it's actually been pretty peaceful here. I haven't been called in to take care of anything drastic, so I guess Eggman and the Chaotix are behaving themselves." Tails smiled, and Amy laughed.

"That wasn't very nice, Tails." Amy stuck her tongue out. "Vector's coming by to see Vanilla more and more, actually, and Espio's still a nice guy. Charmy is. . . still Charmy." She rolled her eyes, and Tails smiled.

"How's your job at the flower shop?" Tails asked. Amy had gotten a job about a year ago working for a local florist. Her friendship with Cream helped a lot, as she had learned how to make some intricate designs with flowers, and got the job, soon followed by a promotion.

"It's great! Cream's lessons came in handy, and I might become the owner's assistant soon if I keep this up!" Amy beamed.

"That's awesome!" Tails's tails gave a sharp flick, which meant he was excited, and Amy picked up on it.

"You're sure in a good mood, Tails. What's up?"

"Oh. . . it's just nice to get out once in a while. . . you know?" Tails gave a nervous laugh, and Amy grinned.

"Mm-hmm. We should do this more often." Amy knew something was different about Tails, but she didn't want to force the issue just yet. She hadn't seen him this happy in months, and she didn't want to upset him.

"I'd love to!" Tails blurted out, a bit louder than he intended. He then sank a bit into his seat and blushed as he closed his mouth. Amy giggled, but covered her mouth.

"Okay, Tails! I've got a few other places I always wanted to go with someone, we'll have to try them out sometime." Amy then went on about discussing some of these places. She had always wanted to go ice skating in the park with someone, and share a dinner at a café she knew placed next to the ocean, so they could see the calm waves along with the beautiful sunset. She wanted to go to Twinkle Park, too, but that was more for romantic couples, so she didn't bring it up with Tails. Tails nodded and kept quiet, listening to her until the food arrived.

Both of them ate without much more small talk, each enjoying their own food, and sampling the other's. Everything was delicious, and Amy paid for the meal. They both left smiling, and Tails spoke as soon as they were outside. "That was great, Amy, how about we go back there again sometime?"

"Sure, Tails!" Amy nodded as they climbed into the Tornado.

"Anywhere else you wanted to go?" Tails turned his head back to look at her while he started up the Tornado.

"Nah, let's just go back to your house."

"Okay." Tails took off, and the two of them flew back, neither of them saying much. The big meals each of them had made them a bit tired. After a smooth landing, they walked inside and sat next to each other on the couch. Tails felt his heart pound as he sat next to Amy; he knew that if he was going to tell her, he had to do it soon. Just as he was wondering how to do it, Amy spoke.

"I had a great time tonight, Tails, thank you." She leaned in and gave him a gentle hug, which he returned.

"So did I. We'll have to do it again sometime soon." Tails pulled his head back and smiled, his eyes having the same gleam of happiness they had earlier that day at Alejandro's. Amy giggled and scratched Tails behind the ears, which made him chuckle.

"We definitely will, Tails. Tell me something, though. . ." Amy grinned mischievously and leaned in closer to him.

"Wh-What is it, Amy?" Tails was confused at her grin, and blushed at how close she was getting.

"There's this look in your eyes that I've seen a couple of times today. I haven't seen you this happy since, well. . . before Cosmo left us." Both were quiet for a brief moment, feeling the tension in the air. "I know you enjoy playing with the Chao, but that doesn't make you this happy. What happened, Tails?"

"Um. . . heh. . ." Tails rubbed the back of his head and looked down slightly. He was a bit embarrassed, and couldn't find the right words yet, so he wanted to stall for time, yet stay on the same topic. "I think it's been hanging around you so much, Amy. . ." Amy looked away and blushed.

"That's sweet of you to say, Tails. . . but, this is different. . ." She looked up again and leaned towards him. "Is there something you want to tell me?" Her voice was soft and soothing.

"Yeah. . . I know why I've been acting so weird lately. . ." Tails blushed as he remembered the last time the pair were talking like this, how he convulsed, then fainted. Amy nodded and motioned for him to continue. She almost spoke up, but decided it would be better for Tails to tell her when he was ready to. Tails paused for a moment before continuing. "I. . . I really like hanging out with you, Amy. You being with me after Cosmo's death gave me something to look forward to. If it weren't for you, I don't think I'd have truly gotten over it." Amy blushed at the compliment.

"Aww, thanks, Tails. . ."

"But I've gotten to know you so much more. . . you're so much fun to be with, you're a kind and sympathetic person, and y-you're really b-beautiful. . ." Tails was blushing even more, but so was Amy. People had called her kind, but not even Sonic called her beautiful. At this point, Amy couldn't take her eyes off of Tails, and it was from equal parts admiration and confusion. He was nice to her, but she had never heard Tails talk like that to anyone, even Cosmo. Everything was adding up to her now, but she couldn't believe the answer.

"Tails. . ." Amy was quiet now, barely above a whisper. She wanted to stall for time to let her mind catch up with what her ears were hearing. Tails looked deeply into her eyes and took her hands in his.

"I love you, Amy Rose. . ."


	6. In Character?

Another chapter! Another review, and effectively a second one via PMs! Thanks, everyone! I start college next week, so writing/updating might be slower than usual. I do try to keep everything as in-character as I can, and as needed for the story to progress, but this time, writing it, it felt a little more "loose," and maybe more OOC, to me than normal. I hope it's still fun to read, though.

SEGA owns the characters, and I don't.

* * *

Time stopped for Amy. She didn't move a muscle. Tails breathed heavily as he waited, the seconds passing like hours to him. At first, he was relieved that he had said it, then the confidence he had built up to tell her evaporated quickly. He hoped she would say yes, of course, but deep down, he really didn't know what she would do. His eyes lost the happy gleam they had, and his face went from relieved to nervous. He started thinking he made a mistake by telling her about fifteen seconds after he did so, but he didn't dare leave, or even pull his hands away. After thirty long seconds, she blinked, and was barely able to speak. "Tails. . . but. . . how?. . . Why?" Tails closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He knew he wasn't out of the woods yet, so to speak. His heart was pounding, and his mind was racing, trying to find the right words. _Amy can't believe it! _Tails thought, and sighed to himself. _I guess she still only sees me as a friend. . . but I can't just ignore my feelings for her. . . I still have to try. . . right?_

"Amy. . ." Tails leaned in, his face inches from hers. "You've been a great friend to me. You've helped me so much, you were there for me when no one else was, and I started to learn about YOU." He was quiet, but emphasized the last word. He knew Amy was enthusiastic and a Sonic fangirl before, but not much more than that. He soon found out that she cared deeply for her friends, and although he didn't know it, Amy had cancelled prior engagements to be with Tails when he needed help. The two of them didn't have much in common on the surface, but each of them got to know the other by being together so much. "And I was always happy when you were over, and missed you while you were gone. I wanted you to be with me all the time. I thought we were just good friends at first, but before I fainted, I smelled your perfume, and I thought of you. It was then I realized just how much I needed you, how important you were to me. I was scared to love, but you took that fear away from me. You showed me that being in love just made everything. . . better. And when I thought of whom I love, you were the only one that came to mind." Tails was blushing deeply at his confession, but he was frozen as well. Amy's mind was still reeling. _He was so afraid of being too close to anyone not too long ago, let alone loving someone. . . but now he loves. . . ME? I. . . I just don't know what to do. . ._

"Tails. . . I. . ." Amy looked down, blushing almost as much as Tails now. "Can I think about it?" Her eyes met his just in time to see his face fall. "Sorry, it's just. . . I didn't think that you. . . loved me. . ." Her voice trailed off, and Tails had his head down, but she saw him give a quick nod. Tails took his hands off of hers, got up, and ran to his room. Amy frowned as she saw Tails flee, and slowly got up from the couch and walked to her room, her mind clearly preoccupied. She let out a long sigh as she lay down on her bed, finally able to take it all in. _Tails is a really great guy. . . really kind and caring. . . and he LOVES me! It won't be like it was with Sonic, where I was clinging onto some false hope! I've only thought of him as a really good friend, though. . . I don't know what will happen if we get together, but I have to give him an answer soon, the poor guy already seems down._

Meanwhile, Tails had closed the door and flopped onto his bed, more nervous than anything. _Way to go, Tails, you get a wonderful girl like Amy close to you, and you screw it up! But. . . now what? Will we still be friends? I think so. . . but it might be awkward. . . I hope we'll still be as close as we were. . . how do I act around her now? I guess I'll have to try to act normal, and not put her under any more stress than I already have. . . Should I go back out there? No, she's probably already gone up to her room. . ._ Tails clutched his head, as the stress was starting to give him a headache. He lay in bed and wanted to at least try and get some sleep so he wouldn't feel worse in the morning. Amy wanted to sleep, too, but when it wouldn't come for her, she would either sit up in bed or pace around her room, thinking everything over. Eventually, Amy fell asleep, just much later than she usually did. Tails wasn't so lucky, however, and only got a couple of hours of sleep, and not all at once.

The morning came, and Tails groaned, as he knew he was in for a long day. He wandered into the kitchen, and his ears perked up as he heard the sound of bacon sizzling. "A. . ." He yawned, clearly tired from the night before. "Amy?" He rubbed his eyes and blinked. Amy was humming while cooking, looking a bit lost in thought, but turned around quickly.

"Oh, hey, Tails!" She saw his red eyes and frowned. "Oh, no, are you all right?" She turned off the stove and ran over to him, both sadness and guilt in her eyes. She knew why he didn't get any sleep, and that she was the cause of it. She wanted to help him, and she knew the best way was to give him an honest answer, but she was caught off-guard by his confession, so she would need time to figure out how she really felt about him.

"I'm okay. . . just a little tired. . ." Tails was trying to get Amy to worry less about him so she could think about her feelings, but both of them knew Tails was lying just then.

"Well, I made a big breakfast to give you lots of energy!" Amy smiled, her voice full of enthusiasm. She wondered if she would have to watch over or care for Tails today, and if so, how much. She hadn't seen him this bad in months, but she knew this was a bit different than what he had done in the past. He wouldn't be depressed and completely unresponsive, just really shy and perhaps a bit clumsy. She handed Tails a plate full of bacon, eggs, and toast. "Eat as much as you like!"

"Amy. . ." Tails's ears drooped, and he was about to try to apologize to her for shocking her by confessing so suddenly. He knew Amy didn't look too well, either, but she was much better off than him. He was the cause of her stress, but as much as he wanted to help her, there was nothing he could do now but wait for her answer. A pink finger came in front of his lips to shush him, and a slender pink arm wrapped around his back.

"Hush, Tails. . . it'll be okay. . ." Amy frowned as she felt Tails shiver. She wasn't sure what Tails was about to say, but she knew it wouldn't be good, and she wanted him to stop worrying about confessing his love. "Just eat something and try to get some rest, okay? I'll be right here if you need me." She let Tails go, and looked him over, seeing him shiver again. Tails wasn't actually sick, but because of all the stress he went through and was going through, he might as well be. He slowly ate about half of what Amy had prepared and went back into his room. Amy cleaned up, then gently tiptoed towards Tails's room and peeked in. Tails was doing okay; he was lying on his bed with his eyes closed. Amy snuck away, hoping that he was getting some much-needed rest. Tails had calmed down, but he was still upset with himself. _Aaaaaaaaaand now you looked weak around her. Nice one, Tails. A day off and having Amy take care of me doesn't sound too bad, though. _

Amy sighed as she looked up at the clock. It was going to be a long day for her, but she wanted to help Tails, as he looked much worse off than her. She lay down on the couch and closed her eyes, keeping an ear open for Tails in case he needed something. _Poor Tails. . . he's having a tough time right now, but he'll be okay. He's been through a LOT worse than this. He's always been a really nice guy, though. I remember back when I met him, he was so shy about meeting a girl, he hid behind Sonic and waved to me._ She giggled to herself. _He's always been nice to all of us, stood up for us, and did a lot for us with all his machines. And he's really cute. . . I love how soft his fur feels. . . _Amy felt herself blushing. _Anyways. . . he's a really likeable guy. . . he's always been like a little brother to me. . . can I even think of him as my boyfriend? _She got up and looked into Tails's room again, seeing him sound asleep, with the covers only covering about half of him. She gently tucked him in, then walked outside. She hoped that Tails would catch up on his sleep, but she stayed close to the house so that she could go back inside if Tails needed her for something, or in case he saw she was gone and started to worry.

She took a deep breath and smiled as she felt the sun wash over her. Amy loved how serene it was out here. There wasn't another house for a few miles in any direction, as Tails needed plenty of room for his hangar and a place to land outside of his house, so his house was built in a remote part of the forest. She walked up and found a small hill about a hundred feet from the house, the one where Tails, Amy, and Cream had their picnic on. She sat down and leaned forward, her head resting on her knees. She was humming to herself when she saw something out of the corner of her eye. She turned to see into Tails's window, and her attention was grabbed by the only thing he had on the windowsill, which was Cosmo's plant. With Cream's help, Tails was caring for the plant on his own in no time. He took very good care of it, partly because it was the only thing they recovered from the blast, partly because he wanted to keep her in his memory, and partly because he thought it would bring her back somehow. He abandoned the latter idea when nothing happened after a year, although the plant did grow into a large, beautiful sunflower. Amy walked up to it and examined it closely, then smiled. _He's still keeping this thing really healthy. _She blinked as she looked it over again, as though it held a secret that she had missed seeing the first time. _You know what? I keep thinking of Tails as the adorable little kid of the group, but he's mature well beyond his years. All those complicated machines he builds, the other hobbies he's gotten, and the fact that he survived and is mostly over killing the girl he loved in order to save everyone. . . all of them show that he's grown up, a lot. He's had to face more than even most of the Freedom Fighters have, and more than anyone ever should after he had to shoot Cosmo. . . _She frowned as she looked in on Tails sleeping. _He really does deserve better than this. . . I want him to be happy, and I really like being with him. . . was I just not seeing how much he's grown and how much I care about him because I loved Sonic? I mean, Tails and I had become very close about two years ago, we always had a lot to talk about, and if Sonic rejected me, I'd always imagine Tails comforting me and making me feel better. He really knows how to make a girl feel loved. I think. . . I think we really could become something more. . . something special. . ._ She smiled widely and blushed as she noticed herself watching him sleep. _I know he needs his rest, so I'll talk to him when he wakes up._ She stopped to pick a flower and put it under her headband before going back inside. When she went back in, she glanced at Tails, seeing him sound asleep again. She went and filled a glass of water for Tails, in case he was thirsty when he woke up. She tiptoed in and put it on his nightstand, admiring him for another moment. He was laying still and looking peaceful. Amy giggled at how cute he looked, then leaned in and gave him a gentle peck on the forehead. Tails didn't wake up, but he gave a happy sigh and a smile, as if he knew she kissed him.

Amy left the room, closed Tails's door, and went back to the couch, leaning back and sighing happily. She wasn't sure when Tails would wake up, so she turned on his TV, keeping the volume down so she wouldn't accidentally wake him. She watched a cheesy soap opera that she liked because she knew Tails was asleep, so he wouldn't be around to complain. She kept daydreaming about her and Tails being together, mostly in the settings they already hung out in, but being more romantic than before. She found herself blushing as she wondered whether Tails was a good kisser or not. She was able to keep those sorts of thoughts under control when she thought about how happy Tails would be. She barely paid attention to the show at this point, becoming somewhat impatient as the hours ticked away until she reminded herself how unwell Tails looked earlier in the day. She went in and checked on him every hour or so, but Tails was still sound asleep.

It was early evening when Tails woke up. He was still feeling a bit weak, and he was pretty hungry. He let out a loud groan as he sat up. He noticed his door was closed, then saw the glass of water beside him. _Thanks, Amy. _He slowly drank the entire glass of water before hearing his stomach growl. He gingerly opened the door before walking into the living room. "Amy?" His voice was strained, but he looked much better than he did in the morning.

"Hi, Tails. How are you doing?" Amy got up and quickly strode over to him, looking him over. She smiled as she saw that his eyes weren't red anymore.

"A little hungry, but much better. Thanks for letting me sleep in, and for getting me the water."

"You're welcome, Tails." She grinned, which made Tails smile. "I've been getting hungry, too, let's grab some food." Tails moved towards the fridge as quickly as he could, and Amy dashed behind him. "Wow. . . now I know what to do if I ever need you to get somewhere quick, just tempt you with food." Tails didn't laugh.

"When I'm this hungry, it'll work." Tails took things out and began loading his plate full of food. Amy took some food as well, and soon the two were sitting down to eat. "Sorry, Amy, it must have been boring to be stuck here while I was asleep all day."

"Oh, no, Tails, I went for a walk, and watched some TV. It was nice to relax for a bit. I knew you'd be okay, you're a tough little fox." Amy playfully rustled the fur on his head.

"Aww, thanks." Tails looked down to try to hide his blush. He ate quickly, and Amy ate as well, occasionally glancing away. She felt bad about waiting to tell Tails how she felt about him when she already knew, but she wanted him to get better first. They finished up quietly, with Tails sneaking glances at Amy during the meal, hoping he could pick up something to indicate an answer. As far as he knew, Amy was just being her usual cheerful self.

"Come on, Tails." Amy beckoned Tails to follow her to the couch, and he did so. He sat down beside her, and she quickly took his hand and gripped it gently.

"Um. . . Amy. . ." Tails looked down at their hands, then back up to her eyes.

"Tails. . ." She blushed, but didn't look away. "You've been a real great friend to me. I know I've thought of you as the little brother of the group, but you're so much more than that. You've grown up a lot, Tails, and you've been through more than anyone should have to go through. You're so much fun to hang out with, and you're still a really great guy after everything you've been through." Tails had stayed still through Amy's speech, but now he blinked and leaned forward. He didn't want to interrupt her, and was hanging onto her every word. She grinned as she saw him lean closer. She leaned in and softly kissed him on the lips, which Tails returned. "I love you, too, Tails. . ." Amy held him, and Tails wrapped his arms around her, pulled her close to him, and then gently moved his tails around her. Amy giggled and gently nuzzled her cheek against his, then planted a soft kiss against his cheek. Tails's tails gave a sharp flick, which was his known tell of being excited or happy. Amy smiled as she felt his tails brush against her.

The two of them held each other for about a minute before Amy pulled away. She smiled as she saw how happy Tails looked. His eyes were wide, and he couldn't hide his smile even if he wanted to. He looked like he was daydreaming, so Amy spoke up. "You okay, Tails?" Tails blinked and came back to reality.

"Oh. . . sorry. . ." Tails gave a nervous laugh. "I just. . . I never thought I'd feel this way again. . . thank you, Amy. . ."

"You deserve it, Tails. . ." She smiled. "You really make me happy, and I want to make you happy, too." She leaned in and kissed his forehead, then leaned back and put her finger under her chin thoughtfully. "And. . . I think I'm feeling better over the whole Sonic thing, and I kind of want to be in my own home again. . . how about I stay at your place for tonight, and go back to my house tomorrow morning?"

"O-Okay. . ." Tails tried to keep his voice steady, but he couldn't help but feel a little sad that Amy was leaving, even though she still lived close by. Amy thought for a moment about how to cheer him up, then smiled.

"Hmm. . . you remember that café by the ocean I talked about at dinner? How about we go there a week from today?"

"Sure, that sounds great!" Tails nodded. "I've seen the place a lot, but never ate there." He knew the place was popular for couples, and in fact, that was all he ever saw eating there. He thought he would look like pathetic if it was just him eating there, so he never went to eat.

"Great! Pick me up at seven?"

"Sure."

"Yay!" Amy gave Tails a toned-down version of the hug she usually saved for Sonic.

"Oof!" Tails attempted to return the hug by wrapping his tails around her.

"I'm going to go to bed. I'll see you in the morning!" Amy pulled away and headed up to bed. Tails turned and walked into his bed, looking at the sunflower that used to be Cosmo. _I can't believe it! Amy loves me, too! _Tails lay down on his bed. Even though he slept for a while, he was still tired because of how stressed he was during most of the day. _But I'll never forget you, Cosmo. I know you would want me to be happy, and with Amy. . . I think I can be happy again. You've done so much for us, and for me. . . and I wouldn't want your sacrifice to be in vain. Thank you, Cosmo, for giving me this chance. _Tails flopped over and fell asleep quickly, with his last thoughts being ones of himself and Amy being on the beach and eating at the café.


	7. Chance Encounter

So I almost have this chapter done a few days ago, and my computer dies. gg. I got a new one on a good sale, though, and tried to recreate this chapter from memory. I liked the first version better, but this still has the same main plot points and dialogue I wanted to include.

SEGA owns the characters. Technically, I own the fan-made ones, but, meh. I always did want to own a Chao. Maybe "owning" Rosette will be the closest I get.

* * *

The week passed by quickly without much going on. Tails took Amy back to her house and went back without a hitch. Even though they didn't meet in person during the week, they talked to each other every night on the phone. They talked about the usual stuff, how their days went, how their jobs were going, how excited they were for the date. The one thing they weren't sure how to handle was telling the others, specifically Sonic and Cream, about their relationship. They knew they would have to tell everyone, they just didn't know when or how to break the news to Sonic or Cream.

Tails was nearly always thinking about Amy and the date, except when he was working. When he got into the hangar, he was able to tune out everything else and focus on his work. If anything, he had more energy to put into his work after Amy became his girlfriend. About halfway through the week, Tails became worried. He hadn't heard from Sonic at all, and he was getting concerned. He made a mental note to talk to Sonic after the date if he didn't hear from him beforehand.

The minute Amy was home, she dashed up to her room and looked over her clothes to choose an outfit for the date. She eventually went with a pink dress that matched her fur, pink lipstick to go with the dress, and some green eye shadow that matched her eyes. Being in a relationship with Tails had given Amy a certain glow that she never had before. She danced and sang at the flower shop when she thought no one was watching, which drew some interesting looks from customers. Amy would either ignore them or tell them that she loved her work, if she even noticed them in the first place. Her work didn't suffer, in fact, she came up with some new designs for bouquets that the owner promised to try selling in the near future. Cream did stop by on occasion, and noticed Amy's newfound love for life, and was told that it was because Amy was over the whole incident with Sonic. It was technically true, and Cream believed it, but she was still a bit wary of how Amy was acting.

The big night finally came, and Tails was pondering one option until the last minute. He eventually decided against wearing any clothes, even for something as special as their first date. Between his two tails and his thick fur, clothes were very uncomfortable for him. And that's without any static electricity. He could wear clothes if he wanted to, but he wouldn't like it. He did take plenty of time to clean and groom his fur, giving it a shiner look than normal. He got in the Tornado and flew to Amy's, his nerves getting to him more and more as he got closer to her house. He took a deep breath before knocking on her door. She was on her couch, waiting for him, and he arrived right on time. Amy ran to the door and opened it, smiling when she saw Tails pause for a moment. "Wow, Amy. You look great."

"Thank you, Tails." Amy beamed at him. "Shall we go?" She put out her hand for Tails to take, and he did so. Soon, they were back the Tornado and off for the cafe. It was on the beach that was past the other side of town, so the two looked at the sights for a while, with some friendly banter back and forth.

"First Alejandro's, and now this. How do you know about so many interesting places to eat, Amy?"

"I like to travel around and eat at new places, it's really exciting. What about you, Tails? Do you know of any good places to eat?"

"I know some great places that deliver pizza. . ."

"Tails!" Amy laughed and reached in front of her, ruffling his fur. "You know what I meant. . . tell you what, how about you pick the next place we go? And no pizza or fast-food joints!"

"Okay, okay. . ." Tails smiled. "I'll think of something."

After about five more minutes, they landed on the beach. The sun was just starting to set, all the yellows and oranges and pinks and purples starting to show. Both of them walked slowly towards the cafe, taking in the scenery. Amy planned it so they would arrive just before the evening rush, as the place was very popular for its views at the sunset. The colors reflecting off of the ocean only enhanced that view.

A voluptuous lynx smiled warmly as she saw Amy approach, and waved the two of them over to an empty table. Amy and Tails sat down, and Tails looked around the place. It was a simple wooden shack with a few tables outside and some more inside, but there wasn't much room for customers, even inside the place. Most of the room was saved for the kitchen, but the place could still seat about forty people inside if needed. After the two of them sat down, the lynx came back with water and menus for them. "Hey, Amy. The usual?" Amy nodded , and the lynx turned to Tails. "Hel-lo, cutie." She said happily, then turned back to Amy. "Who's this?"

"This is my boyfriend, Tails." Amy smiled and gestured to Tails, who was now looking down at the menu and blushing.

"H-Hello, miss. . ." Tails stuttered.

"Jenny." Jenny smirked. "I met Amy the first night I was working here, and we chatted away a slow night, and became fast friends. She always told me about a fox friend that she would hang out with, said he was a really great guy. It's nice to finally meet you." She smiled warmly at Tails.

"Nice to meet you, too." Tails glanced up at her and gave a weak smile.

"You need some time to decide?" Jenny looked back and forth between the two. Tails nodded, and Jenny turned and left. Amy held her hand over her mouth to stifle a laugh, and Tails became very interested in the menu. He eventually decided on the Surf and Turf and looked outside after he closed his menu.

"It's beautiful out there tonight. . ." Tails slowly stared in wonder as the colors of the sky were changing with the setting sun.

"Mm-hmm. See what you miss by staying inside and building machines all day?" Amy teased.

"The air's so clear out here. . . maybe we could come back some other time for some stargazing? I've even got a portable telescope, we could see some really neat stuff with it." Tails suggested, more or less ignoring Amy's joke. Amy considered the idea for a few seconds.

"That sounds like fun. We could get something here and eat it outside, or bring something and have a picnic!" Amy smiled, and Tails nodded. Just then, Jenny came by and took Tails's order, which he was able to say without stuttering. She left a moment later, and Tails focused on Amy rather than the sunset this time.

"How's the flower shop treating you?" Tails heard about Amy's "spacing out," but was too polite to mention it.

"Great! The manager still loves my work, and so do the customers! I think I'm going to get promoted soon!" Amy barely held back a squeal of joy.

"That's great, Amy!" Tails smiled, then pondered for a second, remembering that Amy mentioned going to the Chao garden during the week. "Are you still thinking of adopting Rosette?"

"Yeah! She's always happy to see me when I go there, and Cheese will have a playmate, and I'll have someone to talk to while you're busy working." She got a sad look in her eyes by the time she was done speaking.

"Oh, you don't have to worry about that. I have the phone in the hangar set up to respond to voice commands. It can even go to live video if I want. I set it up that way in case some clients wanted to see how their order was progressing. You can always call me if you want to talk." Tails reached over and took her hand, which made her smile.

"That's really neat, Tails!" Amy smiled. "I'll probably still adopt Rosette, though. If I get this promotion, I'll have enough money to do that easily."

"I hope you get it, Amy, you work really hard at that place."

"So do I, but it's looking good. What about you, Tails? How are things going with you?"

"They're okay. Just working through the days." Tails was interrupted by Jenny bringing them their food. Tails dug into his meal, while Amy's usual turned out to be spaghetti with a robust marinara sauce. "This is really good!"

"I knew you'd like this place!" Amy smiled as she ate.

"We definitely need to come back here." Tails got out in between bites. The two of them ate the rest of their meal in silence, enjoying the food. They each paid for their own meal and left, looking at the moon as it started to rise. They both stood still for a moment, seeing the glow from the moonlight reflect off the ocean and create a makeshift light source for the beach. Amy turned, seeing two silhouettes in the distance. She squinted and leaned towards them, and she thought they looked awfully familiar. . .

"Amy! Over here!" Rouge waved as she saw Amy, then started to fly towards her. Shadow scowled and walked rather slowly towards the pair. Amy ran towards the couple, with Tails noticing a few seconds later and running behind Amy.

"Hey, Rouge. Hi, Shadow!" Amy waved when she was a few feet away from them. Tails had caught up to her, and waved to the couple as well.

"Tails?" Rouge gasped. She hadn't seen or spoken to him since everyone landed back on Mobius. The two were acquaintances, and not much more, even though Rouge did kiss him to win a match at a fighting tournament. Neither disliked the other, but Tails was a bit wary of Rouge. She took a step towards him, a look of concern in her eyes. "How. . . how are you doing?" Rouge knew the whole story about Tails and Cosmo, and pitied the young fox.

"I. . . I'm fine." Tails gave a slight nod to acknowledge the concern. "Thank you. Amy helped me a lot." Tails gripped Amy's hand, and Rouge gave a curious glance at Amy, then looked her over. Her mind was starting to put the pieces of the puzzle together, but she didn't believe the most likely conclusion yet.

"I've never seen you look this good, Amy. What's the occasion?" Rouge smirked, then glanced over at Shadow as he caught up with the rest of them.

"I'm on a date with Tails!" Amy nearly shouted. She tightened her grip on Tails's hand and smiled. Rouge took a second to compose herself before speaking. Neither Shadow nor Rouge knew of the incident with Sonic, so they assumed she would bring Sonic on a date.

"With. . . Tails?" Rouge was still a bit shocked. "That's so cute! How long have you two been together?"

"Only a week." Amy shrugged. "Hello, Shadow!" She waved at Shadow, who gave an angry "Hmph!" and crossed at Amy acknowledging his arrival.

"SHADOW!" Rouge shouted like a mother who was disappointed in her child.

"Hello, Amy. . . Tails. . ." Shadow had no small amount of displeasure in his voice when he said Tails's name. He still remembered when he had to try to kill Cosmo because he thought she was a spy for the Metarex, and how adamant Tails was that she wasn't a spy. She turned out to be one, though she didn't know she was being used. But under the displeasure, there was a hint of understanding. He was there for the entire battle against the Metarex, and knew that Tails had to shoot Cosmo in order to save the entire galaxy. It was different than his own situation with Maria, but there were some similarities. Both of them had loved a kind soul who loved them back unconditionally, only to have them taken away unfairly. He now had a connection with Tails that he didn't want to have at all, both because it was quite a horrible thing to have happen to anyone, and because he didn't like emotional connections with anyone in the first place, with Rouge being the only exception. Amy and Tails nervously looked at each other and thought the same thing: _Shadow, the "Ultimate Lifeform," and Rouge has him wrapped around her finger like that? Scary. _Amy decided to speak up to clear the awkward silence that ensued.

"So, how did you two get together?" Amy was curious about it, as she didn't talk to either of them very much.

"Well, after Shadow came back, he didn't have a job or a place to stay, so I graciously let him stay with me. He got a job at G.U.N. with me a week after we came back." Rouge grinned. "When we weren't together on missions, I tried to talk to him and learn more about him. He's quite the mysterious hedgehog." She put her arm around Shadow and gave him a peck on the cheek.

"And then what happened?" Amy was even more curious now. This time, however, it was Shadow who spoke up.

"After it became clear that she wouldn't stop pestering me, and after she threatened to kick me out, I decided to talk to her." Shadow gave a slight grin.

"HEY!" Rouge shouted, removing her arm from around Shadow. "I COULD always change my mind about you living on the streets!" She stamped her foot when she said "could."

"And I could buy a house with what G.U.N. pays me. But I like living with you. It's more. . . amusing."

"Oh, is THAT what you call it?" Rouge spat, and Tails and Amy shot another nervous glance at each other. They knew it would be best to try to change the subject before it got worse.

"So, what are you two doing out here tonight?" Tails meekly put forth.

"We're out for an evening stroll, and we're going to look at the stars." Rouge looked out at the ocean and stepped towards it, and Amy followed.

"Oooh, we were planning to do that here sometime." Amy remarked.

"I highly recommend it, it's lovely here at night." Rouge thought for a moment and looked to Amy. "What about you two? How did you get together?" Shadow looked over at Amy and Rouge, stroking his chin.

"I started talking to Tails shortly after we landed back on Mobius. He was really hurt after what happened, so I tried to cheer him up. We kept talking, and became very close, sometimes even spending the whole day with each other. And a week ago, he asked me out." Amy smiled as she looked out towards the ocean. Tails gently approached the two of them, but kept silent and enjoyed the view.

"Way to go, foxy." Rouge grinned at Tails. Before Tails could respond, Shadow approached the rest of the group.

"Rose. . ." His voice was soft, but firm enough to demand a response.

"Yes, Shadow?" Amy turned to him and blinked.

"You always used to talk about getting together with faker. Why aren't you here with HIM?" Shadow growled. Amy remembered flashes of the incident that brought her to Tails's house in the first place. She looked down and sighed, losing her happy glow. She raised her left heel and moved her left foot back and forth on the sand. Everything about her body language said that this was a question she did NOT want to answer. Everyone picked up on it, with Tails gently taking her hand, Rouge frowning, and Shadow starting to open his mouth to speak again. Rouge noticed this and cut him off.

"It's okay, Amy. . . you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. . ." Rouge embraced Amy with one arm, which Amy returned with her free arm.

"Thanks, Rouge. . . maybe some other time. . ." Amy nodded, and Rouge nodded in return.

"Well, we should probably be going now. Catch you lovebirds later!" Rouge took Shadow's hand and flew away, with Shadow stumbling, then turning on his hover skates to keep up.

"Bye, you two!" Amy called out, and both she and Tails waved to them. They turned and walked in the opposite direction, towards the Tornado. Tails took her hand as they were walking back.

"You okay, Amy?"

"Mm-hmm. I've had enough excitement for one day, though, how about we go home?"

"Sure." Tails opened the cockpit, letting Amy go in first, then got in and took off. They were quiet on the way to Amy's, with the only comments about how nice it was to see Shadow and Rouge again. When they got there, Amy turned to Tails and smiled.

"I had a lovely time tonight, Tails. We should do this more often." Amy smiled, then nearly tackled him with a bone-crushing hug. Tails was ready for it this time, and returned the hug with as much force as he could.

"Thanks, Amy. I had a great time, too." Tails smiled, Amy pulled away, but didn't let Tails go, and they both paused for a moment. Amy moved in quickly, giving Tails a soft, deep, and long kiss on the lips. This caught Tails by surprise, but he returned the kiss and closed his eyes, losing himself in the kiss. He broke the kiss only because he needed air. His face was red as he gasped for air.

"That. . . was. . . amazing. . ." Tails barely got the words out in between breaths. Amy giggled.

"Thanks." Amy didn't admit it, but that was her first kiss. It's was Tails's first kiss as well, but he didn't admit it, either. She gently put Tails down. "I'll call you tomorrow, okay?" Tails nodded, and Amy opened the door and walked inside. Before closing the door, she took a page out of Rouge's playbook, blowing Tails a kiss and saying "See ya" in a seductive manner. Tails stood there and waved goodbye, then left to fly home, his face still red.

Meanwhile, Shadow and Rouge were sitting in Rouge's house, in the master bedroom. The house was large and rather luxurious, funded with the money G.U.N. paid her and some money she made from stealing and selling the occasional gem. It was nearly midnight when they got back from their walk. Right now, Rouge was sighing and facepalming. "I can't take you ANYWHERE, Shadow. . ." She was still acting like a disappointed mother.

"I was GOING to apologize for asking. . ." Shadow snarled.

"Just teasing you, hun." Rouge snickered, which made Shadow glare at her. "But you do have a point, I haven't seen Sonic at all for a couple of weeks, and when I've seen Amy, she hasn't mentioned him at all. Maybe something really DID happen between them. . . and it can't have been good. I guess even the hero of Mobius has done some things he isn't proud of. . ." Rouge shrugged.

"Rose can be pretty annoying, but she didn't deserve anything like what he did to her if it made her react like that. . ." Shadow put forth, and Rouge nodded.

"But Amy doesn't seem to want to say anything about it. . . and I'm VERY curious about this. . ." Rouge lay back on the bed.

"So am I. . ." Shadow walked over to the nightstand, admiring the green chaos emerald on top of it. "Looks like I'll have to have a little chat with faker tomorrow. . ."


	8. Cashing In My Bad Luck

I have learned the following things from the last two chapters:

I got over 1.000 views on this! \o/

I need to stop proofreading at 1 AM.

College eats up time, big-time. _

There is at least one fan of Rosette out there. Later on, they're gonna love this.

I still don't own any of SEGA's characters.

* * *

BANG! BANG! BANG! The pounding echoed all throughout Sonic's house. "Wha-? What time is it?" Sonic rubbed his eyes and looked over at the clock: 6 AM. He groaned and rolled his eyes, wondering how he would make whoever was at the door pay for waking him so early. Sonic wandered carefully through his house because he was still groggy. Sonic had a very nice house, as being the main hero of Mobius paid him very well. He lived like a typical bachelor would, if that bachelor had a lot of money. With more than one big-screen TV and high-end gaming system, some good food and decent beer, and plenty of spare rooms for people, it was a sight to behold. Sonic also didn't keep his house very clean, but he hired some maids to come by and clean every so often or if he was expecting company that he had to look nice for. After a long walk across the house, he opened the door to find none other than Shadow the Hedgehog staring him down.

"Morning, faker." Shadow held his world-renowned scowl perfectly.

"Shadow? Man, what do you want!? Do you have any idea what time it is?" Sonic threw his hands up in frustration.

"I don't need to sleep. And I found out something. . . interesting last night." Shadow now switched to a cocky smirk, with both the knowledge that something bad happened to Amy and the knowledge that she was dating Tails bringing it out.

"What do you mean?" Sonic didn't put much thought into what Shadow had said; he didn't want to think at all this early in the morning.

"I ran into Rose and foxboy late last night. . ." Shadow took delight in Sonic's confused look and paused. "I wondered aloud why she wasn't out with you. She didn't give me any details as to why, but she seemed so. . . _hurt_. . . when I asked her. I know you know why she acted that way. . ." Shadow's hands balled into fists at his side, and while Sonic did his best to snap himself awake and try to fight off Shadow, Shadow already tripped Sonic and had him pinned. "And I'm not leaving until you tell me." Sonic struggled for a moment before throwing Shadow off of him, and then took a swing at Shadow, which was slow and wide, allowing Shadow a quick counterattack to Sonic's exposed side. Shadow knocked Sonic down again with a shin to the ribs, the momentum making him slide into the wall. Shadow pinned Sonic just after he hit the wall. "Now TALK."

"Okay, okay. . ." Sonic went limp to indicate a surrender and sighed. "It started early one morning when Bokkun came to me with a video message. Eggman was slowly gathering the chaos emeralds for some new death ray that would destroy the world or whatever. The message showed that he had five emeralds at the time, so I had to stop him, because it wouldn't be long before he could pry the other two away from whomever had them. He insisted I go alone, or he'd kill most of the village with explosives he had rigged and hidden away. He was in his secondary base, nestled in some mountain pretty far away from anyone. Obviously, he was prepared for me. I'd never seen so many robots before, and they all fired so many shots, that some of them HAD to hit me. It took almost everything I had, but I was able to get two of the emeralds away and get out of there. I went straight to Sally's from there. No one had heard much from Eggman, and with an army and plan this big, someone had to know. She was in the middle of some huge meeting with her mother and father, and a bunch of other royalty. I tried to tell them what I saw, but even Sally dismissed what I had to say. I guess they all thought that Eggman had given up for good. I was already beaten up pretty bad, and I tried to tell them again, and they just. . . laughed and shooed me away. They took the emeralds for safekeeping and I walked back home, wondering what I had done wrong. And then, out of nowhere, Amy just jumps on me, and I. . . I lost it. I yelled at her, cursed at her, and hit her away from me. . .Amy's a friend, but she startled me and went into her usual talk about marriage, and I couldn't handle that at the time, I just wanted to run away from it all, at least for a little bit, and that's what I did, until I realized what I actually did to Amy. I apologized and she forgave me, but that doesn't excuse what I did. . ." Shadow held an intense stare throughout the story, not moving a muscle. After about ten seconds of silence, Sonic spoke up again. "Now will you get out of here so I can go back to sleep?" He struggled under Shadow's grip, but his efforts were futile.

"Fine, but one more thing, faker. . . when I saw Rose last night, she told me that she was DATING foxboy. Imagine that. . ." Shadow smirked, got up, and took out the green chaos emerald.

"Wait. . . what?" Sonic stuttered out, trying to grasp what Shadow had just said. He got no answer, and Shadow warped away with chaos control and a smirk still on his face before Sonic could grab hold of Shadow to stop him. "Amy. . . and. . . Tails. . .?" Sonic missed his lunge and fell to the ground, equal parts confused and tired. "They're still asleep, I'll ask them later. . ." He dejectedly trudged back to his bed, trying his best not to think about what he just heard, and fell asleep in a matter of minutes.

Rouge was wandering around the apartment, a bit confused at Shadow's sudden disappearance. The green flash he made upon leaving had woke her up. She knew Shadow would leave the house whenever he wanted for no reason, and although it worried her, she understood the need to simply be somewhere relaxing for a while, even if that wasn't at home. She didn't question Shadow or think he was being unfaithful to her at all; she just knew that sudden and mysterious disappearances were part of who he was. Her eyes swept the place just in case this wasn't one of his unannounced trips and something was actually wrong, and even though she did this every time he was gone and didn't explain it or warn her beforehand, nothing was ever wrong, she just had to wait until he came back. This particular trip didn't take long, and another green flash caught her eye. "Shadow!" Rouge ran over to him and hugged him. Shadow was taken aback, as it took him a second to get used to his surroundings after a trip with chaos control.

"Rouge. . ." He limply put his arms around her, more focused on what he discovered at Sonic's house. "Sit down, I've got something to tell you. . ."

"Hm? What is it?" Rouge let go and did as Shadow asked, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"I just got back from Sonic's house. . ."

"Couldn't you have waited? It's six in the morning!"

"I was hoping to get some information out of him. I figured it would be easier if he wasn't expecting me. . ."

"You wanted to know what happened to Amy. . ." Rouge glanced at the ground in sadness as she remembered Amy's reaction from last night. She looked back up to Shadow just in time to see him nod. "And did Sonic tell you?" Shadow nodded again, and Rouge paused for a second. "Well?"

Shadow took a deep breath and recited the entire story Sonic told him verbatim. Rouge listened intently, nodding at certain points, and gasping in shock when Shadow described what Sonic did to Amy. "I know he had a bad day. . . but that's still no reason. . ." Her hands clenched into fists in anger.

"As much as I want to go back there and bash faker's head in some more, there's no point. . ." Shadow said, a bit louder than normal. "It wouldn't help anything. . ."

"So what can we do?" Rouge threw her hands up.

"Right now, nothing." Shadow still had his composure. "We just have to be careful, and try to make sure he doesn't do something like that again."

"Do you really think he would, Shadow?" Rouge looked at him curiously, and after a moment, Shadow shook his head.

"No. But, there's something else in that story. We hadn't heard from Eggman for months, and now he shows up with a huge army and most of the chaos emeralds. We need to watch him, too."

"I'll call G.U.N. We'll have his bases monitored within an hour." Rouge pulled out her phone and walked away from Shadow, muttering various security clearance codes and instructions into the phone. After a couple of minutes, she hung up and walked back to Shadow. "Done. Now what?"

"Now you can go back to sleep. I'm sorry I woke you." Shadow walked over to Rouge and embraced her. He had become much more sensitive to the feelings of others than he was before, but he still did not show it much, the only exception being when he was alone with Rouge.

"It's okay, hun. But I will take you up on that." Rouge gently leaned in and kissed Shadow, then turned and went back to bed. "Don't wake me unless it's an emergency."

"Understood." Shadow nodded and stared thoughtfully at the chaos emerald he held in his hand.

It was noon when Sonic woke up again. He went back to sleep soon after Shadow left, but what he had heard about Tails and Amy pestered him, even in his sleep. He took a quick shower while planning his next move. He knew things were still awkward between himself and Amy, so he decided to ask Tails first. After a couple of chili dogs, he was over at Tails's house in under a minute. Amy was working at the flower shop at the time, so Tails was tinkering away trying to figure out how best to reduce drag on a new airplane he was building. Tails heard the rapid and loud knocking, so he turned on the video feed. "Hey, Sonic! I'm back in the hangar! What's. . ." Since Tails had left the door open, Sonic was over there before Tails even finished. ". . . up?"

"Hey, Tails. What'cha working on?" Sonic's gaze briefly turned to the plane, even though he was not very interested in it.

"Just trying to figure out how to make this plane go as fast as it can." Tails had made a habit of trying to cut down on explaining all of his mechanical knowledge to anyone who did not understand it, which was nearly everyone.

"That's cool." Sonic had a nervous tone in his voice, and spoke right as Tails finished his sentence. "Hey, I haven't seen Amy in a while, how's she been doing?" Sonic tried to sound casual, but he was failing miserably. Tails shrugged. He knew that Sonic knew that he talked with Amy a lot, but he thought he did not know about their relationship, and he still wanted to keep that a secret, at least for now.

"She's fine." Tails turned back to the plane he was working on.

"Has she said anything about me?" Sonic pointed to himself with his thumb.

"No. . ."

"When was the last time you talked to her?"

"Yesterday. . ." Tails shrugged, but was getting annoyed quickly. He got to talk to Sonic, sure, and he was glad Sonic was okay, but now that he was here it was all about Amy. _She doesn't want to talk to you, leave her alone! _Tails thought, even though he knew he was getting ahead of himself. He was not comfortable with how this conversation was going, so he wanted to either end it or get to Sonic's real motive quickly. ". . . why?"

"It's just, you've been seeing her a lot lately. Something going on between you two?" Sonic did not know that Amy had seen Tails a whole lot more than usual since they all got back to Mobius, as Amy did not tell even Sonic about seeing Tails as a good friend and makeshift therapist. He was not sure if what Shadow said was true, and he did not want to jump to conclusions, but he was still curious.

"Yeah, we're friends. . ." Tails could not hide the irritation in his voice. Sonic thought for a second and decided to assume Shadow was telling the truth. Even though they were rivals and loved to taunt each other, Sonic did not think Shadow would lie about something that big. Usually it was a cheap shot about Sonic's speed, his strength, or his mother. He did not know or think to ask how Shadow knew this, but he would trust his rival.

"Really? That's not what Shadow told me. . ." Sonic stared at Tails, seeing him freeze up and his ears prick up. Sonic smirked, but then hung his head slightly. "Tails. . . why didn't you tell me?" Sonic spoke to Tails like he usually did, with Tails as his best friend. Tails turned to Sonic, not expecting that response.

"Huh?"

"Why didn't you just tell me you were dating Amy?" Sonic repeated, sounding, if anything, slightly hurt.

"I. . . I thought you'd be mad at me. . . and maybe Amy. . ." Tails leaned his head forward, studying Sonic, still in slight disbelief. Sonic frowned and gently kicked the ground.

"Well, you DID lie to me about it just now. . . but I understand. I don't really deserve her after what I did anyways. . . " Sonic was looking at the ground, and Tails blinked, still taken aback by Sonic's comments. "How long have you been together?"

"Just a week."

"Okay. Sonic's face turned serious, and he stared Tails down. "Is she happy, being with you?"

"I. . . I think so." Tails nodded.

"Good." Sonic tried to nod and smile appreciatively, but could not do it. "That's good."

"I hadn't heard from you in a while, Sonic, I was actually going to call you today. What have you been up to?" Tails tried to steer the conversation back to what the pair would usually talk about.

"The usual stuff I do when there's no work. Kick back, relax, go out for a nice run. . ."

"Oh! How's Sally?" Tails had not seen Sally for a while, and remembered that Sonic had lunch with her recently.

"She's fine. Got a lot less to worry about now that Eggman's been out of our way for a while. . ." Sonic looked wistful for a split-second, and Tails saw it, but was not sure what it meant. Tails wanted to continue this conversation to try to find out why Sonic looked like that.

"Yeah, I'm glad. . ." Tails spoke quickly, as if trying to cut Sonic off, but then paused. "So, she's got more time to see you, huh?" Sonic lightly chuckled.

"Not like that, buddy." Tails smiled, as the awkwardness was gone and he was getting closer to the answer he wanted. "She's gonna have a kingdom to lead soon enough. She doesn't have that much time to hang out with anyone anymore. . ." Tails's smile disappeared when he heard Sonic talk. The two of them had gotten along well, but things had gotten awkward and complicated between them on more than one occasion.

"Aww. . . I'm sorry, Sonic." From some of the stories Sonic told, Tails had wondered whether the two of them were dating, but this was effectively an answer. Sonic merely shrugged, trying to play it off as though it was not important. Loneliness was getting to him, though, between the debacle with Amy and the unfortunate circumstances with Sally. Sonic did not really want to discuss his emotions in general, though, so he wanted to either bring this conversation back to Tails or leave. After a second's thought, he wanted to do the latter, as he got the answer he wanted from Tails while ensuring that Tails dating Amy would not harm their friendship at all, so he had no reason to be there anymore.

"It's okay." Sonic grinned and gave his signature thumbs-up. "I gotta run, Tails, catch you later!"

"Bye, Sonic!" Sonic was out of the house before Tails finished talking. Tails ran to the phone to call Amy. Even though things with Sonic went well, he was still nervous, and ended up speaking between quick, shallow breaths. "Amy? Where are you?"

_"Tails? I'm in town. What's wrong?"_

"Sonic knows about us. He came over this afternoon and told me that Shadow told him." Amy took a deep breath, which Tails could hear on his end.

_"What did he say?"_

"He was upset that I didn't tell him, but other than that. . . he seemed fine with it. . ." It was just now hitting Tails that Sonic was actually okay with him dating Amy.

_"Oh. . . that's good. . ."_

"Mm-hmm. He mentioned something about Sally not having time for him anymore, though."

_"Awww. . . the poor guy might be lonely. . ." _Amy was genuinely concerned for Sonic, and being with Tails made her think of Sonic as a friend more so than a love interest, so she was okay with Sonic and Sally getting together. _"That went better than I thought it would, though. . ."_

"Yeah, me, too. . ." A long pause followed. "Just. . . it didn't look like he was in a good mood when he left, so be careful if you see him, okay?"

_"Okay. I'm actually going to the Chao Garden. I doubt I'll run into him there." _Tails blinked and gasped slightly; Amy could barely hear it.

"What about Cream?"

_"It's her day off, she won't be there."_

"Okay. Have fun!" Tails almost sounded like his usual optimistic self, but he was still a bit concerned with telling Cream after what he saw from her before he and Amy were dating.

_"Bye, Tails!"_ Amy hung up and kept running down the dirt path. She had gotten off the bus about five minutes ago, and was nearly at the Chao Garden. She had missed seeing Rosette, even if it was only five days since she last saw her. She broke into a run, barely seeing Sarah as she waved. A distant "Hi, Amy!" by Sarah was missed, and Sarah put Amy's name and time down as a visitor.

Rosette heard Sarah shout Amy's name, and her eyes widened. "Chaoooooooooo!" She flew over to Amy and gave her a big hug.

"Awww. . . good to see you, too, Rosette." Amy petted Rosette gently. "What have you been up to?" At this, Rosette let go of Amy and smiled, waving her arms.

"Chao, chao! Chao, chao!" Rosette then motioned for Amy to follow her.

"Okay, let's go!" Rosette led the way, back through the main area of the park, all the way to a group of bushes that surrounded a few fruit trees in the far side of the garden. Other than the small cave behind the waterfall, it was the most secluded spot in the park. Amy froze when she saw what Rosette had led her to: a polite, friendly chao with a red bowtie.

"Ch-Cheese?" Amy stuttered out. Rosette gestured back and forth between the two, as if to introduce them.

"Chao, chao!" Cheese nodded and pointed to Amy.

"So then, where's. . ."

"Cheese! There you are!" Cream came running up behind them. When she turned and noticed Amy, her eyes went wide, and her hands covered her mouth. "Amy!"

"Cream!" Amy took a step back, partly out of shock, partly out of fear.

"I'm glad you're all right!" Cream jumped over to Amy and hugged her, and Amy's arms were bound, so she could not return it.

". . . Huh?" Amy blinked.

"I tried calling you all week, and you never picked up!" At this, Rosette tilted her head in confusion, a question mark appearing over her head. Cheese joined the hug, one arm around each of them. Amy was talking to Tails on the phone a lot of the time, and did not have any form of call waiting, so she did not know about Cream calling. Tails knew that Cream had called him, but was nervous about speaking to her after dating Amy, so he never picked up or switched calls.

"I'm sorry, Cream, I guess I was just busy. . ." The group hug broke apart, and Cheese went to hover between Cream and Rosette.

"You know. . . come to think of it. . . I could never reach Tails, either. . ." As she thought about it, her ears drooped. "You've been talking to him a lot, haven't you?" There was an unmistakable note of sadness and defeat in her voice.

"Yeah. . ." Amy nearly choked up after hearing Cream's voice.

"Are. . . are you going out with Tails?" Cream hung her head, and Cheese held onto Cream to comfort her. Amy exhaled slowly. She knew Cream would probably ask her, and although she meant to tell Cream about it, she hoped it would not be like this.

"Yeah. . . we've been going out for a week. . ." Amy looked down, ashamed.

"Why didn't you tell me?!" Cream half-cried, half-screamed.

"I was going to tell you. . . I just. . . wasn't ready yet. I thought you'd hate Tails and I for it." Amy tried to calm Cream down, but Cream was not having any of it. She was shaking, and tears were starting to flow from her eyes.

"L-Leave me a-alone, A-Amy. . ." Cream's voice was shaking, and Cheese had tears in his eyes as he saw Cream's face.

"Cream. . . please don't. . ." She reached out to Cream, and Rosette reached out to Cheese.

"Leave me alone!" Cream turned and ran away, tears flowing down her face. Cheese turned to Amy and pointed angrily at her.

"Chao, chao!"

"Chao! Chao, chao!" Rosette responded to Cheese, waving her arms and begging him to stop. Cheese flew away, and he was crying as well. Both their sobs echoed throughout the garden, and tears visibly fell onto the grass. Rosette clung to Amy, who held her back gently. Amy's eyes were wide, and her breathing was shallow. She hoped Cream would be okay with Amy dating her crush, but it seemed the worst had happened.


	9. Part One, and you know what THAT means

I told myself I wouldn't do this, and yet, here I am. It took a while because of school and exams, but here it is.

SEGA owns the non-fan-made characters. Still pretty much Rosette.

* * *

Amy stood there for a few minutes, cradling Rosette in her arms. She gently rocked the Chao back and forth to soothe it. "Shhh. . . it-it'll be okay, Rosette. . ." Amy was blinking back tears herself, though, when she remembered how upset Cream looked. She took a deep breath and tried to calm down. "I can go talk to Cream, and Tails will come with me, and we'll work this all out, I promise." Rosette looked up at Amy, tears still moving down her cheeks.

"Ch-Chao?"

"Mm-hmm. And I'll tell you what: I need a bit more money from work, but if I get it, and we get all of this resolved, how about you come live with me?" Amy's voice had a motherly tone to it. She was a shoo-in for the promotion, but now she wanted to smooth things over with Cream and Cheese before adopting Rosette.

"Chao, chao?" Rosette's eyes lit up.

"Of course I mean it." Amy smiled and petted Rosette. "I'll need the promotion first, and I'm sure I can calm Cream down if I just talk to her about it. You'll be living with me before you know it. And we can go over and visit Tails, too!"

"Chao, chao!" Rosette cheered and clung to Amy.

"Atta girl! I'll see you later, I need to find Cream." Amy let go and ran out of the garden, ignoring everyone else, and left the building once she saw Cream was not in the lobby. She took out her phone and dialed Tails's number as fast as she could. "Tails! Help!"

_"What is it, Amy? What's wrong?"_

"I found Cream in the Chao Garden! I told her about us and she and Cheese ran off crying!"

_"WHAT?"_

"I don't know where she is. Please, Tails, help me find her!"

_"I'm on it!" _Tails hung up and ran into the hangar, scrambling to get into the Tornado. He ran over a list of places Cream might be in his head. _Let's see. . . the beach. . . the flower garden. . . the hill we had the picnic at. . . _He could view the latter as he ascended from the hangar. _Nope. . . and Amy's near the flower garden, she'll know to check there anyways. . ._

Amy also knew Cream very well, and knew about a large meadow between the Chao Garden and the forest. It also had a few Chao that were not kept in the garden. It was Cream's favorite place to relax, but she did not go to it very often because of how far it was from her house. Amy looked all around, shouting with her hands cupped around her mouth. "Cream? Cheese?" Neither of them showed up, but some of the Chao had shown up, confused by the sudden shouting. Amy put her hands at her sides and lowered her voice as the Chao approached her. "Oh, hello. You haven't seen Cream or Cheese, have you?" The Chao looked around, but then shook their heads.

"Chao chaooooooo. . ."

"O-Okay. If you see them, tell them Amy's looking for them, okay?" Amy was starting to panic. The Chao nodded, then started to fly around and search. She ran back towards the bus station that had brought her to the garden in the first place. She jumped as she heard her phone ring and picked it up quickly. "H-Hello?"

_"Amy? It's Tails." _Tails was flying around, his eyes scanning the sky. _"I'm checking over the forest now, and I checked the hill by my house where we had our picnic a while ago, and she's not there. I'm going to check the beach, and I know I can pick you up on the way. You checked the meadow, right?"_

"Mm-hmm."

_"Want me to pick you up?"_

"Yes, please. It'll be much faster by air."

_"I'll be there in two minutes."_

"Okay." Amy hung up and nervously paced around while she waited. Tails arrived right on time, opening the cockpit as he slowed to a halt. Amy jumped in and the Tornado was off as quick as it landed. "Oh, Tails, I'm so sorry!"

"It's not your fault, Amy. Cream had to find out sooner or later. I'm sorry she feels that way, but I know she'll be all right. I just hope she doesn't hate me now. . ." Tails was quiet and almost reflective for a moment, but soon snapped back to attention. Amy had her head lowered during the speech, but now raised it and slowly scanned around, looking for Cream or Cheese.

"Do you think she went back home?" Amy asked. Tails thought for a moment.

"Hmmm. . . probably not right away. . . she'd go somewhere to relieve some stress, then go back home."

"Should we call Vanilla, just in case?"

"Later. If we call her now, she might panic unnecessarily. We'll call if Cream isn't anywhere she likes to be."

"Where else do you know besides where we've been and the beach?"

"Maybe Twinkle Park. . . you know anywhere else?"

"A couple of clothing shops. We can stop there on the way back."

"Okay. That should take a few hours, it'll be getting dark by the time we're done. If Cream isn't home by then, we KNOW something's wrong. I just hope it isn't. . ." Tails frowned and sped up. They reached the beach across town in record time. Tails merely looked around the beach, but Amy ran towards the restaurant she and Tails ate at last night. Jenny gasped with fright as she saw the look on Amy's face.

"Amy! What happened?"

"Jenny, have you seen a light-colored rabbit about this tall. . ." Amy put her hand up to a few inches below her shoulder. "Or a little chao with a red bowtie?" Jenny thought for a second.

"No, I haven't. Why?"

"If you find them, let me know, okay? They're Cream and Cheese, I'm sure I've told you about them before. They ran off about an hour ago and we can't find them."

"Do you think something happened to them?" Jenny's eyes widened with fear.

"We're not sure, that's why we're looking. We gotta get going, thanks, Jenny!" Amy waved as she dashed back out the door. A muted "Tails!" was all Jenny heard as she ran to tell the manager to keep an eye out for the young rabbit and her chao.

"What is it, Amy?" Tails clearly had panic in his eyes as well. "Did you find them?"

"No, but I asked Jenny to keep an eye out. The place knows all the regulars at the beach, so if Cream or Cheese shows up anywhere, we'll know."

"Wow, great thinking, Amy!" Tails smiled.

"Thanks, Tails! Where to next?" Amy was running back to the Tornado. Tails opened the cockpit so Amy could get in while he caught up.

"Twinkle Park! It'll be real busy this time of day, so she'd go there because she'd be harder to find."

"Let's go!" Amy was equal parts enthusiastic and impatient. _And it's all my fault. _Amy lowered her head. _I should have told Cream sooner, then, maybe, this wouldn't have happened. _As Tails took off, he glanced back and saw that Amy was clearly worried. He frowned. _She probably blames herself for this. I could have told Cream, too, but I was too afraid. _

"Amy?" Tails began softly, and Amy's head slowly went up. Tails knew that look in her eyes; it meant she was about to cry, but was trying hard not to. "I know you're upset, but Cream might be missing, and we're not going to find her if we're focused on what happened in the past. We'll never see her if we aren't looking." Amy let out a loud sigh. Her eyes met Tails's, and she nodded.

"Right! To Twinkle Park!" Amy did not smile, but she looked very determined now. Tails nodded in return, choosing to keep his smile on the inside. They flew to the park, with Tails taking a slight detour to check a small meadow by a heavy forest. Tails did not notice it on the way to the beach, but he thought it might be easier for Cream to hide in a secluded place like that. Between a few scanners on the Tornado and their eyes, however, they found nothing. They landed in Twinkle Park, but were happy to see a short line, even though the park itself was packed. Amy took Tails's hand and ran with him up to the end of the line. Both of them kept glancing around, trying to figure out which ride Cream would usually be on. "Tails. . ." Amy tugged at his arm, clearly still worried.

"It'll be okay, Amy. . ." He knew he had to comfort her, but he was not sure how to do it. He had already said everything he could think of, so instead, he wrapped his arm around her and kissed her cheek. One of the park attendants who was watching suddenly spoke up.

"So cute! Come on in, you two!" She motioned for the pair to head in. Tails pulled away, and his eyes met Amy's. Both of them blushed, but remembered their mission and nodded, running in past the attendant.

"Where do you think Cream would be?" Tails asked. He tried looking around, but all the people and rides seemed a bit overwhelming to him when they were trying to find a rabbit and a chao. His lack of experience with Twinkle Park was not helping, either. As interesting and flashy as it looked, he knew he would have to enjoy it later.

"There's a teacup ride that Cream always liked to go on, let's look there!" Amy dashed off, with Tails stumbling to try to keep up. They saw a lot of children around the ride, with their parents watching happily, but did not see Cream or Cheese. Tails looked at some of the other rides and attractions nearby, but more looked for places that someone small could hide. He went by a large roller coaster and some typical carnival games, but he paid the carnies running the booths no mind. Amy was looking at the ride and its line thoroughly , even shouting out "Cream? Cheese?", but to no avail. She frowned and looked around for Tails, catching a glimpse of his golden fur over by the deep-fried hot dog stand. Tails decided to fly and look for Amy from above rather than maneuver through all the people that were there. He saw her a few seconds after he got airborne, and sped over to her, shaking his head.

"Back to the Tornado! Maybe we can find her in the mall!" He pointed towards the Tornado as he flew. He reached down to grab Amy. "Come on, grab hold!" Amy pondered for a moment until Tails was inches away from her. She jumped up and grabbed his arms, clinging to him as he flew. She closed her eyes and whispered urgently to him.

"Tails. . .? We're making a huge scene here. . . everyone's staring at us. . ."

"I know, but this is the quickest way to get out of here. . . we need to go as fast as we can, in case something did happen to her. . ." Tails did not want to think about it. Even though he was decisive and acting strong, he was just as nervous as Amy. He kept looking ahead, but a quick glance downward confirmed what Amy said. Tails saw a lot of open mouths and pointed hands, and quite a few people muttering about how they had not seen Tails in a very long time. Tails blocked it all out as he went back to the Tornado, gently setting Amy down into the seat behind him. They both buckled up and they were off to the mall. The Tornado was getting more attention than most of the rides as they flew overhead, but neither of them cared. "Where were you thinking of going when we get to the mall?"

"There's a clothing shop that Cream and Vanilla always shop at, I figured I'd go there. . . and you can go check at the Chao supply store." Amy's eyes scanned over the mall as they approached. She knew the mall like the back of her hand, and her knowledge was about to come in handy. As soon as they landed, she grabbed Tails's hand. "Follow me, then turn left where I tell you to!"

"Gah! O-Okay. . ." Tails tried not to focus on the crowds of people shopping, eating, or talking. He was still nervous in crowds of people, but he put that aside for now for Cream's sake. Amy ran with him for a few seconds before pointing off to the left.

"That way! The second shop on your right!" Amy nearly shoved him, and Tails stumbled, nearly falling over. Tails ran over to a shop that sold food, medicine, toys, and clothes for chao. He started by looking around for Cheese, but every employee at the shop had a chao with them, so that was a bad idea. The chao shop was very small, so searching it went rather quickly. Tails was as discreet as he could be, considering his tails were rather noticeable. After a couple of minutes, he knew he had searched everywhere, and Cream and Cheese were not in the store. He decided to ask an employee for good measure, but he merely shrugged and shook his head. Tails sighed as he left, wondering where Amy had gone off to as he looked over a map of the mall.

Meanwhile, Amy was moving through the crowds to a well-known clothing and perfume store that catered to women, but had clothes for men as well. Even though most would think a rabbit and a chao would be easy to spot, Amy had played a lot of hide-and-seek with Cream, and she knew better. With stealth skills that would make Espio jealous, Amy snuck through the shop, peeking around corners and from inside clothing racks. She had to apologize after giving a young hedgehog a scare when he saw a pair of large, green eyes suddenly appear from inside a rack of shirts. After twenty minutes of snooping and sneaking around the store, Amy was sure Cream was not there. She sighed and left, getting some strange looks from the retail workers on the floor. They knew Amy could act weird sometimes, but her going into the store and not buying was unheard of.

Tails was left wandering around for a while, as he really had no interest in any of the other stores in the mall. He decided to stick around where they had split up, as it was right by the Tornado if they needed to get away quickly, and Amy would probably think to look for him there first. He sat on the bench with his head down, half in shame, half lost in thought. _Where could she be? Why can't we find her? What if she hates me? Or Amy? And I asked Amy out so quickly after rejecting Cream. . . it's all my fault. . . _Tails's head shot up as he heard his name being called. "Amy!" He ran over to her and embraced her with force neither of them thought he could muster. "Any luck?"

"Oof! So that's how Sonic feels!" Amy chuckled and wiggled slightly, trying to loosen Tails's grip on her. "No, she's not there. It's almost dinner time at her house, let's go there and see if Vanilla knows anything."

"Okay. . . sorry about that. . ." Tails blushed as he released her.

"It's all right. Let's go!" Amy ran ahead of Tails again. Tails opened the cockpit and jumped in, buckling up and planning the route as they rose. Amy's hands were shaking as she remembered how long they were unsure of Cream's whereabouts. Tails was nervous, too, but he kept his hands steady at the controls. He knew that he would have a much better idea of what happened after they spoke to Vanilla about everything.

Both of them were even more jittery on the way to Vanilla's. With each failed attempt to find Cream, they knew it would be harder to find her, and although they hoped she would be okay, fear and doubt were creeping up on them. It did not take them long to get there, but they caught a view of the setting sun as they landed, which reminded them how long Cream had been gone. They ran up hand in hand and knocked on Vanilla's door.

"Hello, dears." Vanilla's eyes shot to the couple's hands. "Oh, my. . . congratulations!" Vanilla was truly happy for both of them, but had another reason to be worried about Cream, as she knew about her daughter's crush on Tails. "Come in, come in. . ." The two of the quickly went in behind Vanilla, their eyes darting around, looking for Cream or Cheese.

"Miss Vanilla, have you seen Cream or Cheese around?" Amy asked, clearly worried.

"No, Amy, why do you ask?" Vanilla's eyebrows raised slightly.

"Well, I told Cream about Tails and I. . . and she ran off crying. . ." Everyone looked sad, and Vanilla lowered her head, but Amy continued. "We looked at the nearby flower field, and the beach, and Twinkle Park, and the mall, but we couldn't find her. . . we've been looking since about noon. . ."

"That's horrible! Does anyone else know she's missing?" Vanilla gasped and covered her mouth.

"I told one of the servers who worked at the cafe on the beach. . ." Amy said.

"I asked the employees at the Chao shop to keep an eye out. . ." Tails added.

"Anyone else?" Vanilla was looking out the window now, and Tails and Amy looked at each other. They both blinked and raised their heads at the same time. They knew who else to go to, even though they would not like it.

"Not yet, but. . ." Amy took a deep breath. "We're going to go ask Sonic. . ." Amy's voice was barely audible as she mentioned Sonic. Vanilla paused for a moment. She knew it would not be easy for Amy to admit it, and even harder to go.

"Do you think it could be. . .?" Vanilla became too scared to speak.

"We really hope it's not. . ." Amy replied before turning to the door.

"Good luck, both of you." Vanilla nodded. "And hurry." She tried to hide her worry, but nobody was fooled. They both knew how much Vanilla cared about Cream, as Cream was the only family she had left now.

"Thanks, Miss Vanilla!" Tails and Amy said nearly in unison as they ran out the door.

"Amy, do you know where Sonic lives?" Tails was a bit embarrassed to ask, but he had not gone to visit Sonic in two years, and he was not sure if Sonic had moved or not.

"Yeah, I'll tell you where to go. He's pretty close by if we're flying." They jumped into the Tornado and took off. "Over there!" Amy pointed about sixty degrees to the right. "It's a ways away that way, it's a pretty big house, but it doesn't have any other houses nearby."

"Right!" Tails turned and kept his eyes open for any large or lavish houses. Sonic's house was about thirty miles away from Vanilla's, and they made it there quickly. Neither of them tried to hide their nerves when they got there, but they knew it had to be done for Cream's sake. Both of them had their hands at their sides as they walked up. Tails gestured for Amy to knock, but Amy blushed and gestured for Tails to go first. Tails gave a light sigh and knocked. It was about thirty seconds before Sonic came to the door.

"Oh! H-Hey guys. . . what do you need?" Sonic opened the door, and blinked as he saw who it was, looking just as nervous as Amy and Tails did. Amy looked sad, both from seeing Sonic this nervous and from what she knew she had to say.

"Sonic. . . Cream's missing. . . we think she's been kidnapped. . ."


	10. This is it, boys, this is war

Turns out, when my internet goes down, I have a LOT of time to write, which is why this is out relatively quickly.

Still don't any non-OC characters. That's SEGA's job.

* * *

Sonic invited them in, and after a quick explanation from Tails and Amy about their day, Sonic was very distressed. "It's gotta be Eggman. . . I know it. . ."

"But we haven't heard from him for months. . ." Tails protested.

"How do you know it's Eggman, Sonic?" Amy leaned closer as she spoke up, and Sonic sighed. He stroked his chin, staring ahead in deep thought. He wanted to explain everything he knew, but not only would it worry his friends, they might figure out that it was linked to his incident with Amy. He knew that getting Cream and Cheese back were more important than having them possibly be mad at him again, but he knew he did not have to tell them everything.

"I saw him a few weeks ago. . . he sent me a message to fight him alone, and he had a HUGE army, which explains why we haven't heard anything from him. If I refused, he said he'd hurt you. . ." Tails and Amy both moved towards him, frowns on their faces and sad looks in their eyes. ". . . and he had five chaos emeralds, so it was only a matter of time before he had all seven. I had to try and stop him. I did some damage, got two emeralds, and got away, but I was beat up pretty bad. If it wasn't for chaos control, I don't know if I'd have survived. . ."

"Why didn't anyone do anything about it? Did. . . did you talk to Sally about it?" Amy said gently.

"Yeah, I went there first. . . and she was with her family. . . I tried to tell them, but none of them believed me. . ."

"WHAT?" Both Tails and Amy exclaimed.

"I know. . . I looked pretty ragged, and Sally's parents hadn't seen me around much, but I don't really know why they didn't believe me. . ." Sonic hung his head. "I guess they thought I wouldn't let things get this out of hand. . ."

"Sonic. . ." Amy said sympathetically. "It wasn't your fault. . . and you did all you could. . ." She reached her arm out to touch him, and Sonic stepped away. "What. . . what's wrong. . .?"

"It's nothing. . ." Sonic looked up, but could not force himself to look happy.

"If it didn't go well with Sally. . . why didn't you tell any of us? You know we'd have helped you out. . . " Amy leaned in closer to him, her eyes meeting his.

"I tried to. . ."

"Who did you go to first? No one seemed to know about this. . ." Amy thought for a moment. "Even Shadow or Rouge would help us out and tell everyone. . . " Sonic stayed silent through Amy's speech. He wanted to distract her, to hope she would not find out the truth, but he knew there was no stopping her once she was focused. After a few more seconds, her eyes went wide. "Wait a minute. . . you looked terrible that day I found you. . . and you, you. . ." Amy hung her head, and Tails gasped.

"I ran away after I left you. . . I couldn't handle anything at that point. . ." Sonic sighed. "I'm sorry. . ."

"It. . . it's okay. . ." Amy held her arms open for a hug, Sonic walked over, and the pair embraced. "I thought that you were having a bad day when I saw you, but, that's terrible. . ."

"Yeah, but I still shouldn't have treated you the way I did. . ." Sonic pulled away and nodded. "We need to get to Eggman's base in the mountains. It'll be really risky, but I put a dent in his army, and with the three of us, we should be fine. Let's go!" All three of them ran to the Tornado and got in.

"I've heard about his mountain base, but I've never actually seen it. . . you're gonna have to help, Sonic. . ." Tails said as they took off.

"Right. And do a scan for anything electronic when we get close, just in case. . . he's got some good defenses set up. . ." Sonic nodded.

"Okay. . ." Tails headed towards the mountains, scanning the ground with both his eyes and the Tornado's technology, looking for any suspiciously-placed rocks or trees, in case they held turret guns or anything that could detect the Tornado as it was flying towards them. "What's our plan for when we get down there?"

"We split up and search. That mountain base has a lot of tunnels, which means it might take us a while, and we'll probably have to take out most of his robots to get to Cream." Sonic's eyes were also darting around, and he looked as nervous as Tails did. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Amy fidgeting with her dress as she looked around. He gently put his hand on her shoulder, trying to sound as calm as possible. "We'll get her out of there, Amy, don't worry."

"You won't get away with this, Eggman!" Cream shouted from inside a small container made of a glasslike polymer. It was transparent, yet strong enough so Cream and Cheese couldn't break out, even though they tried.

"If I had a nickel for every time I heard that. . ." Eggman angrily muttered.

"What do you want with Cheese and I?" Cream clung to her crying Chao, stomping her foot with rage.

"I'm going to use you as bait, of course. Sonic may have gotten the better of me in the past, but no more! With my newest fleet of robots, Sonic and his friends won't stand a chance! Oh-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho!" Eggman threw his head back as he laughed. Just then, a mechanical voice was heard from the nearby computer.

"Enemy ship detected. . . "

"Perfect! Put it on screen." Eggman smirked and stroked his mustache with anticipation as he saw that the Tornado was heading straight for them. He typed in a series of commands to prepare his robot army for their arrival. "Let them come. . . soon, they'll all be out of my hair for good. . ."

"What hair? You're bald!" Cream shouted and stuck her tongue out at Eggman, who angrily muttered something and turned back to his computer.

"We're almost there!" Sonic shouted as he pointed to an inconspicuous rock formation on the side of the mountain.

"Descending now!" Tails kept looking around, but still found no defenses built into the mountain or surrounding ground. "Sonic, there's no turrets or anything like that here. Was this how it was when you were here?"

"Yeah. . . probably because it took everything he had to make all those bots. . . we need to be on our guard after we land. He'll probably have a big welcoming committee." Sonic focused on where he saw the entrance was last time, and Amy summoned her hammer as Tails brought the Tornado in for a smooth landing.

"Eggman probably already knows we're here. I picked up a few stray electronic devices on our way here, and it's not like Eggman to let anyone in undetected." Tails found a lot of objects on the radar, all seemingly crowded near the entrance. "Yup. . . that's a lot of bots. . ." His eyes went wide for a moment.

"We need to hurry before it gets any worse. Let's go!" Sonic said as Tails opened the cockpit. Sonic jumped out first, followed by Tails and Amy. The three of them ran towards the entrance, zigzagging and using cover to be careful just in case the robots tried to swarm them. They all became concerned when the robots did not try to swarm them or advance at all, even when they were under the cover of a large rock right outside the entrance.

"What's going on?" Amy asked. "They're just. . . standing there. . ."

"I think Eggman just wants to show off. . . he can't resist it after chasing me away. . ." Sonic sounded angry at the thought of having an earlier "defeat" rubbed in his face.

"Now what do we do?" Amy looked to Tails, who was deep in thought, searching for an answer.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! The sound echoed throughout the apartment, and the red light associated with it made its presence known on every wall. "What's going on?" The gruff voice of Shadow the Hedgehog was barely audible under the screaming alarm.

"It's from the commander, it's an emergency!" Rouge ran to the blinking red light on the video phone they had installed in their apartment, courtesy of G.U.N., and pressed the "Play" button.

_"Shadow, Rouge, Eggman's army has shown itself in the mountain base. Our surveillance has spotted Sonic, Tails, and Amy already there, along with approximately one thousand robots at the entrance alone. We couldn't get any cameras or bugs inside the base, so we're not sure how many more weapons he has." _

"What do you propose we do, commander?" Shadow crossed his arms and glared at the video feed of the commander.

"_I'm leaving that up to you. If you decide to attack, we'll have soldiers head out immediately."_

"We can't risk an army as large as Eggman may have loose on the city. Send all available soldiers and weapons to the base. We're on our way there." Rouge said as she looked at Shadow and nodded. Shadow nodded in return.

"I've never been there, so I can't use chaos control to warp there, even if I get a picture of the place. We'll need a ride. Send the fastest jet you have here right away." Shadow added.

_"Done. Good luck."_ With that, the commander cut off the transmission.

"I'll get the chaos emerald. Even if I can't warp there, it'll be useful in the fight." Shadow ran over and grabbed the glowing green gem.

"I know Sonic's a great fighter, and Tails and Amy are no slouches, but. . . I don't know if they can handle all this. Eggman amassed a huge army, and if he got all the chaos emeralds as well, he'd be unstoppable." Rouge sighed as the pair walked outside and up to the roof, waiting for their pickup.

"We'll make sure that won't happen." Shadow put his hand on Rouge's shoulder and gave a confident nod, his face still as stoic as ever.

"Of course, handsome." Rouge grinned and leaned in, kissing Shadow's cheek, which made him grin. Shadow was about to respond, but was stopped by a G.U.N. jet pulling to a stop over their roof and opening a side hatch to allow people to board.

_"All ready to go, agents Shadow and Rouge. We'll be off as soon as you board." _The pilot spoke over the intercom, and the two got on and strapped in within seconds. The pilot retracted the hatch and took off.

"How many soldiers do we have joining us?" Shadow asked.

_"About a thousand, and they're all our best men, and armed to the teeth." _The pilot replied.

"Sounds like we're gonna come out on top." Rouge grinned as she spoke.

"We can't keep standing around, we gotta get to Cream!" Sonic was becoming impatient as they were planning.

"We'll stick together against the bots, then split up once the coast is clear. Eggman always has complicated bases, and we have no idea where Cream is. If we split up too early, they'll overwhelm us. Everyone ready?" Tails asked, and the other two nodded right away.

"Then let's go!" Sonic jumped on top of the rock and dashed towards the robots, and Tails and Amy swept around, coming from opposite sides. Once approached, the robots all came to life and started firing, aiming mostly for Sonic, with the robots on the far edges aim for either Amy or Tails, depending on who was attacking them. The sound of bullets, robotic joins moving, and hammers and tails moving deftly filled the air. Each of them focused on the robots in front of them, with Amy clobbering robots into other robots, Tails using his surprisingly strong tails in a similar fashion, and Sonic bouncing around all the robots he could like a pinball.

"There's too many! How are we going to get to Cream through all this?" Tails shouted as his tails swept at the ankles of some of the robots.

"Just keep fighting! Eggman can't send bots our way forever!" Sonic shouted back, wincing as a bullet grazed his arm. Amy leapt up and smashed a robot, crunching it down like an empty soda can.

"I can see more coming, Sonic! M-Maybe we should get out of here. . ." As Amy spoke, some of the robots moved around to get between the heroes and the Tornado.

"We'll fight our way out of this, and see what we can do from there. . ." Tails was panting as he used his tails to sweep the robots out of his way.

"Come on, guys! You can do it!" Cream looked worried, but shouted encouragingly at the screen anyways.

"Your puny friends don't stand a chance against my army!" Eggman turned to Cream, an evil grin plastered on his face. "I've got even more robots waiting, and plenty of traps in here to crush them, if they even get here! OH-hohohohohoho!" Eggman laughed as he sat back down his chair, assured of victory.

_"We're getting close, agents. Where do you want to land?"_ The G.U.N. pilot spoke calmly over the intercom.

"Put us right in the middle of the action." Rouge suggested, and Shadow gave a curt nod.

_"I'll try. The closest I can safely get you. . ."_ The pilot checked his controls and map. _"I can circle around and have you jump out fifty meters away from Eggman's robots."_

"That'll do fine." Rouge put her arm around Shadow. "Ready to have some fun, sugar?" She turned to him and winked, which Shadow replied to with a smirk and a nod. He then wrapped his arms around Rouge, which caused her to gasp.

"Be careful out there." Shadow gently nuzzled his cheek with hers. "I've already lost Maria, I won't lose you, too." He whispered softly to her.

"I'll be fine." Rouge placed her hands on his cheeks and kissed him deeply, pulling away only when the pilot shouted, _"Ten seconds, agents. Opening the hatch now! Reinforcements will be here in two minutes!"_ Rouge grinned as she walked outside and held Shadow close to her. "Let's give ol' Eggy a visit he'll never forget." Rouge clung to Shadow and jumped out. They were two miles above ground and falling fast, waiting to get closer to Rouge could glide them to a safe landing.

On the ground, the mountain of scrap metal was slowly growing, but sweat was visible on the brows of all three fighters, each of them looked battered, and Amy's dress looked like swiss cheese. "There's too many!" Tails shouted. "Every time we get close to the edge, more of them keep surrounding us!"

"We gotta get out of here!" Sonic shouted, his eyes wide and his voice shaking with desperation.

"Hii-yah!" Amy shouted as her hammer made contact with another robot, sending it flying into the crowd. They had taken out about half of the original thousand, but more were coming out of the mountains to take the place of the fallen. She and Tails were both panting heavily, as they were not as used to hand-to-hand combat as Sonic. They had had a bit of training with Sonic and Knuckles, but not even Sonic was prepared for something like this. All of them turned when they heard the sound of a jet flying overhead, and Tails had enough time to spare a glance upward in the middle of fighting.

"Something's falling from the plane!" Tails noticed the jet's logo just before it went out of sight. He jumped up and kicked the nearest robot in the shoulders, giving him more time to look up as he flew backwards. He saw wings unfurl from the falling object, and recognized it immediately. "It's Rouge! And Shadow!"

The airborne pair glided gracefully over the swarm, dodging bullets. The green chaos emerald was visible against Shadow's ebony fur. "CHAOS. . . SPEAR!" A blast of energy took out a few robots on the ground. Seconds later, Rouge threw Shadow into the fray, where he landed next to Sonic, taking out a robot right behind him.

"G.U.N. is sending backup that should arrive in about a minute. Soldiers, tanks, artillery, you name it. Looks like someone believes you after all, faker. . ." Shadow grinned as he started giving the robots a sound thrashing.

"Hold on just a bit longer, everyone! Then we'll take Eggman down, once and for all!" Rouge shouted as she did a sweep kick to take out the robots surrounding her. Sonic, Tails, and Amy were revitalized by the arrival of Shadow and Rouge, in addition to knowing that they would soon have enough firepower to take down whatever Eggman had planned. Sonic had his trademark grin back as he looked towards the entrance and shouted as loud as he could.

"You hear that, Eggman? This ends NOW!"


	11. A Martyr In My Bed Tonight

To make up for what seemed like a long wait, have an extra-long chapter! This pushes the story over the 40,000 word mark, which means it's also a novel by the best official definition I could find (I am bored, and I have Google, so I occasionally learn things). So, yay, I wrote a novel! \o/

Also, I've started another story called Blaze's Decision. There's only the first chapter now, but the second is coming along nicely. You should check it out! *Not biased whatsoever*

SEGA owns the characters, now let's get on with it!

* * *

The moon started to rise as the mechanical roar of tanks and rhythmic stomping of feet got louder and louder. Bullets whizzed through the air from snipers and infantry. Tails caught a glance of the help when he did a low sweep with his tails to take out a couple more robots. "Whoa. . ." Exhausted as he was, his eyes lit up, and a wide grin spread over his face. "Guys, you gotta see this!" He pointed towards the reinforcements.

"Wow. . ." Amy said as she took in the full view after bashing a few robots out of the way with her hammer. The soldiers had surrounded the robots in lines that awkwardly formed a semicircle, with a second line of soldiers behind the first to take over if the first line went down and look around to try to prevent an ambush from behind. The artillery that was promised was hidden in the trees, but the tanks were far less subtle as they rolled up behind the second line of soldiers.

"You guys know how to party. . ." Sonic gave a thumbs-up as he fell back down from a homing attack. Orders were being shouted, and tank rounds were being shot at the edges of the battle, where they had the smallest chance of harming anything except for Eggman's robots, and the soldiers started to pick off robots that were coming too close to them. This display of force reinvigorated the heroes, and they were soon taking down robots at the same rate they did at the start of the fight. Tails's tails were moving almost as fast as Sonic was, and the golden blurs were taking down robots left and right. Sonic's acrobatics were as deadly as they were breathtaking, when he was not going too fast to see. Amy swung her huge hammer around as if it was a plastic toy, with plenty of visceral "CRUNCH" sounds as the robots were turned to scrap. Rouge was spinning around at Tasmanian-devil speed, her kicks causing the robots to fly farther than Amy's hammer swings, and Shadow's fists and legs were slicing through robots like a hot knife through butter. A few minutes later, the last of the robots were taken out by Shadow and Rouge, with some help from the soldiers.

"Thanks. . . guys. . ." Sonic panted. As much as he did not want to admit it, without Shadow's, Rouge's, and G.U.N.'s help, they would all be captured or killed by now.

"This no time to stand around here, let's go!" Amy ran ahead, but Tails reached out and grabbed her.

"Hang on, Amy! We need to be careful! Eggman's probably set a lot of traps for us inside. We'll all go in together, and keep an eye out for anything weird." Tails and Amy led the rest of them to the entrance, with five pairs of eyes scanning around the mountainside.

"Blast!" Eggman pounded the keyboard in frustration, then sighed. "Well, no matter. Even if they get inside, they'll never get past all of my traps!" His maniacal grin returned, which caused Cream and Cheese to cower and step away from Eggman.

The heroes made their way inside, with Tails and Shadow leading the way to look for traps. Shadow was more familiar with Eggman and his tricks, while Tails was better at seeing the mechanics of the trap, what it actually did, and how to disable it. Though the base was built into a mountain, there was steel covering the place so well that no one could see any stone. The moonlight reflected off the steel for the first twenty feet in, but the base was dark otherwise. After everyone's eyes had adjusted to the low level of light, the lights came on in the base, causing everyone to cover their eyes. "He knows we're here. . ." Shadow growled and scowled, and Sonic and Tails nodded.

"He's taunting us. . ." Sonic frowned and shook his head. Shadow and Tails scouted up ahead, stopping at an intersection.

"Wait!" Tails put up his hand to stop everyone else. He could hear the familiar creak of slightly worn metal moving around. "There's something here. . ."

"What is it?" Rouge piped up as she looked around.

"Which way do we go, Tails?" Amy added as she stepped closer to him.

"I'm not sure. . ." Tails kept looking around for the source of the noise, and Shadow chose this moment to speak up.

"That is only a camera that is meant to look for intruders." Shadow pointed to a small lens, barely visible to the naked eye, but the ultimate life form's senses picked it up rather easily. Tails leaned towards where Shadow pointed at, nodding as he saw the lens. However, the group's focus was broken when they heard a loud scream coming from their left.

"Let's go!" Sonic started to dash ahead, but an outstretched arm from Shadow stopped him.

"WAIT. . ." Shadow was starting to lose his patience. "We don't know if the way ahead is safe. . . and knowing the doctor as well as I do, it probably isn't. . ." Sonic thought for a moment and sighed.

"Fine, go ahead and look, but we have to save Cream!" Sonic's voice had an angry edge to it, both from wanting to save Cream and being upset that Shadow was right. Shadow put his hand over his chin and began to look around, and Tails hovered above him for a better look at the ceiling. After a few seconds of looking, they heard Cream screaming even louder, and coming from in front of them, down the corridor they were looking at. There was a left turn there, too, about a hundred feet away, so they could not see Cream, but that did not matter. Sonic ducked past Shadow and dashed ahead.

"Sonic, wait up!" Tails shouted and started to fly behind him, and the rest of the group followed, trying to catch up to Sonic. This exercise in futility ended up with Sonic ahead of the rest of the gang as they all rounded the corner. Sonic did his best to screech to a halt when he saw the dead-end, but he did not stop in time. A series of loud mechanical whirrs and clicks were heard, and many tiny holes opened up in the walls, ceiling and floor. Everyone's eyes went wide, and Tails shouted, "Get down!" Spikes came up from the floor, and mini-harpoons shot from the walls and ceiling. Sonic used his momentum to slide and stayed low to the ground. Shadow and Rouge were cautious enough to stay back a few feet away from the turn, so they jumped out of the way. Amy had charged ahead, hoping to try to save Sonic, which left her exposed to the trap. Tails had enough time to turn around and fly away, but he had seen Amy turn around. He grimaced and shook his head, knowing that Amy would try to help Sonic, even though Tails knew Sonic could handle whatever Eggman threw at him. He turned around as fast as he could and yanked Amy back to stop her, hearing her scream out, "SONIIIIIIIICCCCCCCC!" Amy's vision was blocked by Tails's gold and white fur, and he was spinning his tails to try and slow them both down. While his tails ended up inches from the spikes, he took a grazing blow from one of the mini-harpoons fired from the wall. Tails winced and let out a low growl at being hit. He managed to hold Amy in place, though her thrashing about trying to get to Sonic only hurt Tails even more. "AMY, STOP!" Tails shouted louder than he intended to, but everyone froze and fell silent. After a moment, he could feel Amy shaking against him. His own breathing was jagged as he whispered, "Sonic's okay. He stopped just in time." Because of how quiet the hallway was, everyone heard him.

Sonic carefully got to his feet, then walked over, and put a hand on Amy's shoulder. "It's okay, Amy. I'm right here." Amy shivered for a moment, then looked up at Sonic with tearful eyes. Her eyes barely registered something different on the floor, but she paid that no mind. She wiped her eyes and nodded once she saw Sonic was okay. She glanced down at the floor and realized what she had seen before: a steady drip of blood. She gasped as she saw a bloodstained spike and Tails dripping blood.

"Tails!" Amy had to take a moment to force herself not to shout as she squeezed Tails. "You. . . you got hurt because you saved me. I'm so sorry!" Tears reappeared in her eyes as she felt Tails gently embrace her.

"Amy. . . it's okay. . . you were only trying to help. . ." Tails pulled back and gave a genuine smile before trying to flick his tails and wincing again. Rouge, who had been watching all this from a distance, stepped forward.

"You're gonna need to get that looked at, Tails. Come on, I'm sure one of the soldiers outside has a first-aid kit." She walked away and looked down at her wrist, pressing some keys and quietly requesting a medic to meet her out front. After a few moments, everyone snapped to attention when they heard, "FINE, THEN! BUT I'LL MAKE SURE THE COMMANDER HEARS ABOUT THIS!" She sighed and turned to everyone. "It's all right. We've got a first-aid kit, but not only did the medics say they were too 'unfamilar'. . ." Air quotes accentuated the word. ". . .with Mobians to provide good medical care, but all the soldiers left! The NERVE of them!" Rouge stomped her foot, but then walked back over to Tails. "You don't have to worry, though, Tails. I'll make sure you feel better." She gave a flirty grin that made Tails doubt her, but Rouge was a G.U.N. certified field medic. After learning all the tricks of the spy trade, she had gotten bored, and wanted to learn more practical skills, so she could be a greater asset to her team. It was not much help at home, living with an immortal being, but it was great in the field. The pair of them strode away, with Tails holding his tail so he would not drip blood everywhere. Shadow let them pass without a word, instead striding over to Sonic and Amy, who were holding each other for comfort.

"Rouge is a very skilled medic. Tails will be just fine. Now, we have to find Eggman." Shadow spoke without emotion, merely staring at the other two hedgehogs. Amy nodded. Her eyes were red and her vision was slightly blurred from crying, but she knew they had to press on. "I'll scout ahead." Shadow said simply, and Sonic nodded. Shadow led the trio back towards the intersection, although Tails and Rouge were too far ahead to see them.

Tails had headed to the entrance with Rouge, still holding his tail. He did not say anything or show any sign that he was in pain, mostly due to all the adrenaline from fighting Eggman again. Rouge was also quiet, but they both moved quick, since they knew the way out was safe. "Ah! Here we are. . ." Rouge flew over to the first-aid kit and started to dig through it. "Wow, they really thought of everything," She said as her eyes passed over the array of tools, bandages, and medicines. "Okay, foxy, let's see it." She turned towards Tails, with bandages in one hand, and a needle and surgical thread in the other. Tails sheepishly took his hand off, with blood covering his tail, and more still dripping to the floor. "Hmm. . . let's clean you up first. . ." She set down her tools, found a water bottle in the kit, and got that out. She gently poured the water over his wound, which made Tails wince again. She surveyed the wound before putting the needle and thread away. "Good news, hun, you won't need any stitches, and the wound's very minor. Bad news is, you can't fly on that thing for a few days to a week." She leaned over to see Tails frown, but he nodded anyways. She turned back around and bent down to pick up the bandages. "So. . . how's the happy couple?" She grinned as she saw Tails blush.

"Fine. . ." Tails muttered.

"You know, Amy came to me for a few pointers on guys. She had some jewels she was willing to part with, so I helped her out a bit." Rouge gently tied the bandage around the wound.

"So that's what that was. . ." Tails blushed deeper and turned away from Rouge. He thought he could not be heard, but Rouge's giggle took that thought away.

"Seems she's putting those skills to good use. So, have you done it yet?" Rouge grinned as she saw Tails nearly jump up.

"N-No!" Tails's hands were shaking.

"Bet you want to, though, huh?" Rouge finished applying the bandage and tied a makeshift tourniquet under it.

"I. . . that. . . not until we're married. . ." Tails's wound was better, but he was still irritated. He knew Rouge liked to tease him, but being injured made it a bit less bearable. "Are you done yet?"

"Yup. Just take it easy on that thing and you'll be better in no time. Now, come on, we've got our lovers to get back to." Rouge winked and closed the kit, but took it with her as the two ran ahead. They found the other trio waiting for them at the intersection, with Shadow's glare still in top form.

"We figured out that the screams on the left were amplified from speakers in the walls, and the right way is littered with mines. No one triggered any, no one's hurt. The only way is dead ahead." Shadow turned back to the intersection and started to move down the hallway. Amy ran over and hugged Tails.

"How are you feeling?" Amy looked at Tails's bloody bandage.

"I'm fine, Amy, let's go." Shadow and Rouge went first, with Tails and Amy behind them, and Sonic bringing up the rear. This path was longer and more curved, and while there was the occasional camera, Shadow had a gun with him to take those out.

Cream panicked as she saw Tails bandaged up, but eventually calmed down as she saw him walking normally. "They're pretty close now, aren't they?" Cream said tauntingly, sticking her tongue out.

"Blast it! Well, I saved the best for last! And you'll have a front-row seat to witness their demise!" Eggman started typing at a furious pace, and the sounds of grinding gears filled the room for a moment, but stopped a few seconds later. Just as the room fell silent, Eggman turned to see blood-red and vivid aquamarine eyes looking at him.

"Eggman. . ." Shadow and Rouge strode ahead with confidence, and Sonic, Amy, and Tails followed. "We know about your plans, and we're going to end them, once and for all!" Shadow rest his arms at his sides, his hands balling into fists.

"But you don't know about THIS plan, Shadow. . ." Eggman grinned and slammed his fist onto a control panel, hitting a comically oversized red button and causing the middle of the floor to open up, with something rising up on a panel to take the place of the old floor. Shadow had to jump back to avoid falling, and Rouge flew upwards, but backed away in case it was a trap.

"It looks like a giant robot. . . for a mad scientist, you really aren't that creative. . ." Rouge said with a hint of annoyance.

"Yes, it LOOKS like a giant robot, but it's indestructible! Bullets, missiles, tank rounds. . . spin-dashes. . ." Eggman grinned and looked between Shadow and Sonic as he spoke. "Nothing can destroy my newest creation!" The robot was ten feet tall and coated in steel, with long fingers, a laser-sight to target, and missile launchers attached on top of its shoulders. It had a broad midsection and small head, bearing a rather striking resemblance to Eggman himself.

"We'll see about that!" Sonic shouted and ran up to the front, quickly launching into a spin-dash and flying at the robot before bouncing right off of it, landing in a dazed heap against the wall. "Oof. . ."

"My turn!" Rouge ran up to the robot and launched into a spinning kick, aiming for its ankle. A loud "CLANG!" signified a hit, but the robot did not move, and Rouge grimaced, going down on one knee and holding her shin. "Aah!" The robot lifted its leg up slowly, and although everyone knew what was about to happen, Shadow was the first one to spring into action. He dashed on his hover skates over to Rouge, turning to the left and leaning out towards her, picking her up a second before the robot's foot came down on her. Shadow's momentum carried through the turn, which also allowed him to outrun the missiles the robot fired at Shadow.

Amy's eyes went wide, and her hands covered her mouth. "Tails. . . how do we destroy that thing? If the three of them can't harm it, my hammer won't do any good. . ." Tails had been studying the robot the entire time, but he was still stumped.

"OH-ho-ho! I TOLD you it can't be destroyed!" Eggman drew attention to himself before hitting another button, sealing up the door the group entered from, which was the only way into the room. "Now, your lives will all end here, and then there will be NOTHING stopping me!" Tails took another long look at the robot. _Reinforced steel covering the entire robot, extra protection on the joints, the egg-like shape putting its center of gravity so low that we can't trip it. . . what can we do. . .? _Tails blinked and nodded slightly, then turned to Amy.

"I know how to beat it, but we need a distraction. Everyone else fighting it should be enough, but we might need you to go and fight it as well." Tails paused, not wanting to ask the question he knew he had to.

"Don't worry, Tails, I can do it. It's the least I can do. . ." Her eyes glanced back to Tails's bandage. "Now, go. Hurry!" She shooed him onward. Tails ran as fast as he could and did not look back. Sonic took another charge at the robot and failed, but dodged its missiles just as easily as Shadow did. Amy ran towards the robot, just in case she would be needed. Shadow gently set Rouge down, then went back to facing the robot, but did so opposite Sonic, so the robot could only focus on one of them at a time. Eggman was too busy gloating to notice, but Tails was a few feet away from the keyboard. He signaled to Sonic to join him and help take care of Eggman, who was oblivious to Tails's plan until he heard the clicking of the keyboard.

"Why you little-!" Eggman's arms reached towards Tails, but he was knocked off-balance by a speeding Sonic. The robot turned towards Sonic, who dashed away, trying to pull the robot's attention away from Tails. Through all this, Amy made her way to the robot and was pounding away at its feet, cursing it with every hit from her hammer. The robot turned its missile launcher at her and lifted its foot to step on her. She was determined, however, and rolled out of the way of the foot. She let out a shriek once she saw the missiles coming her way, but Sonic was quick enough to scoop her out of the way. Eggman had gotten up, but Tails hit the last few keys and raised his arms in triumph. The robot stopped moving, and the targeting laser turned off. Cheers broke out from everyone except Eggman once they realized what had happened. Tails turned to Cream as he looked over her cage, which had no obvious door to it.

"I'll get you out of there, don't worry." Tails went back to work, his fingers flying across the keyboard. A few seconds later, a square hatch on the top of Cream's cage opened. She and Cheese flew out of the cage and over to Tails, giving him a congratulatory hug.

"Tails! You're hurt. . ." Cream frowned as she saw his injured tail up-close.

"Yeah, but I'll be fine. I just can't fly, and I have to take it easy for a while." Tails shrugged. "How. . . how are you?" Tails asked nervously, knowing about both her kidnapping and her learning Tails and Amy were a couple.

"I-I'm okay. . ." Cream started to shake in his arms. "I-I missed m-mama and y-you and. . ." Cream leaned her head into Tails's shoulder and sobbed. Tails and Cheese started a group hug, and Amy joined in soon after, which caused Cream to look up. "A-Amy?"

"Yes, Cream?" Amy's eyes were closed as she held onto Cream, her voice as calm and soothing as she could manage after such a scary fight.

"W-Why did you come to save me? I t-told you to leave me alone. . ." Cream had turned and was now sobbing into Amy's shoulder.

"Because you're my friend and you were in trouble, Cream." Amy gently patted Cream on the back. "I'm not going to abandon you over something like this. . ." No one spoke for a few seconds.

"I'm sorry, Amy. . ." Cream took deep breaths and stopped crying. "Tails is happy with you. . . and I'm happy for both of you. . ." She gave a weak smile and nod, and Cheese copied Cream. The group hug disbanded, and Amy took Tails's hand and led him down the stairs.

"I'm sorry you got hurt because of me. . ." Amy mumbled.

"I'll be all right, Amy. I can still work on machines and fly the Tornado just fine." Tails gave a very convincing smile. He wanted to calm Amy down, but he also knew it would not affect him very much, even in the lab.

"You should talk to Cream, maybe see if Rouge is okay. . ." Amy said while glancing towards Sonic, and Tails picked up the hint. He decided to do the latter, because Rouge helped him earlier. Amy walked over to Sonic and smiled. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine." Sonic gave a thumbs-up.

"Thank you for saving me, again." Amy let out a giggle.

"No problem, I'm not just gonna abandon you, Ames." Sonic grinned, which caused Amy to smile. The two of them hugged. "Tails is a pretty lucky guy." Sonic chuckled.

"Don't push it, Sonic!" Amy gave a playful, weak shove. "You're right, though, he IS really lucky. But, he deserved it." They both nodded, not wanting to speak of the events on the Blue Typhoon.

"How's your leg, Rouge?" Tails bent over to examine Rouge's shin, which Shadow was gently massaging.

"I've been better, but I'll tough it out." Rouge grinned. Shadow stared at Tails once he realized his arrival.

"How did you figure out how to beat that thing?" Shadow's voice had a protective growl because he was close to Rouge, but he was also curious.

"Well, it looked indestructible, all right. . . on the outside. But no matter what, robots are still just a mass of programming and circuits. I just had to hack into the robot's systems and shut it down." Tails's tone was businesslike, and he did not look up from Rouge's leg. "Sorry, Rouge, I wish I'd thought of it sooner."

"Calm down, kid, you saved all of us. I just need to keep off this leg for a bit and I'll be good as new." Rouge smiled, grateful that she had Shadow to take care of her and that Tails checked up on her.

While everyone's back was turned, Eggman started to crawl towards one of the walls. He reached up to a keypad in the middle of the wall and began to punch in a code. A compartment opened, revealing a vehicle small enough to be quick, but large enough for Eggman to fit inside. This was accompanied by a loud, mechanical voice. _"SELF-DESTRUCT SEQUENCE ACTIVATED. ONE MINUTE UNTIL SELF-DESTRUCT." _Everyone started to panic, and Sonic ran to the door, spin dashing against it. He was able to go right through the door, and looked back to his friends.

"Shadow!" Sonic called and pointed to Shadow. "Take Rouge! I can get everyone else out of here!" Shadow nodded and left in a green flash. Sonic ran over to Amy.

"Take Tails and I to the Tornado, Sonic, we'll fly out of here!" Amy shouted. Sonic nodded, picked her up, and dashed out. Tails had finally turned to see Eggman trying to escape by running as fast as he could towards the escape pod.

"Oh, no, you don't!" Tails pointed to Eggman and ran towards him, trying to stop his escape. Cream gasped as she turned and noticed what Tails had seen, and her eyes went wide.

"You. . . you won't hurt anyone any more, Eggman!" Cream grabbed Cheese and hurled her at the escape pod as hard as she could. A frenzied "Chaoooooooooooooo!" was heard as Cheese collided with the pod, cracking the glass and causing sparks to fly from it.

"Oh, no, Cheese! Are you all right?" Cream ran towards Cheese with tears in her eyes.

"Chao, chao!" Cheese nodded and opened her arms, and Cream ran over and hugged her. Sonic had come back into the room.

"Let's go, Tails! You can get the Tornado started up while I get Cream and Cheese!" Sonic shouted, and Tails nodded.

"There's enough room for all of us in there. We can all get out that way." Tails was carried out quickly and placed into the pilot's seat in front of Amy. He started to get the Tornado ready to fly. Sonic dashed back, leaving Tails and Amy in the Tornado.

"Sonic says he's going to get everyone out and we'll all fly home together." Tails said quickly.

"What about Eggman?" Amy asked, and Tails's eyes went wide as he realized what had actually happened.

"Cream and Cheese broke his escape pod. . ." Tails said, the possibilities starting to dawn on him.

"WHAT?" Amy was shocked that Cream would do something like that, but if she would do that to anyone, Eggman would be the one.

"Yeah. . ." The engine whirred on, and Sonic had come back out with Cream and Cheese, the latter of which held tightly onto Cream and was crying with fear and shock. The three of them went into the Tornado, with Cream calmly trying to comfort Cheese.

"Let's go, Tails!" Sonic shouted, and the cockpit lowered, and the Tornado was off.

"By my count, we've got about twenty seconds left. We should be able to get about two and half miles away from the mountain. We'll be fine." Tails had run the numbers in his head while making sure the Tornado had a steady liftoff. Everyone else nodded tensely, but Cream was still talking to Cheese.

"It's okay, Cheese, soon we'll be back home with mama again. . ." Cream gently rocked Cheese back and forth in her arms like a baby.

"Ch-Ch-Chaooo. . ." Cheese clung to Cream, still sobbing.

"Don't worry, Cheese. . . Eggman was a very bad man. . . he killed so many people. . . you did a good thing back there. . ." Cream whispered, but everyone else heard her, and everyone turned in shock. No one believed it yet, thinking Eggman had another trick up his sleeve. They all heard the deafening explosion and subsequent avalanche as they flew away at speeds rapidly approaching the speed of sound. Everyone except for Tails turned to the window and looked out, trying to see any sort of vehicle coming out of the mountain, but none came.

Rouge was laying back on the bed and wincing in pain while Shadow placed an ice pack over her leg. "It looks like you'll be fine, but you need to relax for a week." Shadow said matter-of-factly.

"So you'll be taking care of me for a week? Good deal." Rouge grinned, her wit unable to be beaten by a bum leg.

"We'll see." Shadow grinned. "As long as I get a week off, too, it might be tolerable." Just then, a familiar red light stole their attention and an alarming beeping sound rang through the apartment. Shadow ran to the phone and answered it. "What is it?" He snarled, but underneath his hasty tone was fear. He wondered if anything had gone wrong fighting Eggman.

_"Agents, Eggman's robot base had successfully self-destructed. None of the Freedom Fighters were trapped in the blast. However, our cameras captured the last few seconds of the base before it was destroyed, and we can confirm that Dr. Eggman was killed in the blast."_

Both Shadow and Rouge froze for a few seconds. "What. . . what happened?" Rouge spoke up, still unable to believe it. "Surely he tried to escape?"

_"He did. However, we noticed his escape pod broke after being hit by a chao."_

Rouge shook her head, frowning. "Never thought she had it in her, such a sweet little girl. . ." She murmured quietly, but Shadow took over the conversation.

"Thank you, commander. Also, Rouge was injured in the fight. She estimated she will need a week to recuperate. I need to stay here and take care of her."

_"We saw that as well. You're both on medical leave for a week."_

"Thank you, commander." Rouge was grateful as she lay back onto the bed.

_"Great job out there, agents. Dismissed." _The transmission ended, and Shadow lay down beside Rouge.

"It's strange, isn't it? A world without Eggman. . . things will be really quiet around here. . ." Rouge pondered as she looked at Shadow.

"I think we can handle that. Even if they give us less work, we have enough saved up to be fine. Speaking of which, thanks for getting me that time off." Shadow smiled.

"You STILL have to take care of me. . ." Rouge grinned.

"I think I can handle that. . ." Shadow leaned in and kissed Rouge, cradling her in his arms.

The heroes landed outside of Vanilla's house. They all exchanged worried glances when they saw the lights still on. Cream ran ahead and knocked on the door. Vanilla slowly got up and peeked through the blinds, then ran to the door when she saw who it was. She opened the door and Cream jumped up, clinging to her nightgown-clad mother. "Mamaaaaaaaaa!" Cheese looked exhausted, but joined in the hug.

"Cream! My baby! You're all right!" Vanilla turned to the group. "Thank you all so much!" Her eyes swept over the group until she realized something was amiss. "Tails, you're hurt! What happened?"

"I got hit by one of Eggman's traps. I'll be fine, though." Tails smiled nervously.

"Ooooh, that Eggman!" Vanilla was clearly upset. "He harms my baby, and then he goes and hurts a nice young man like you, Tails!"

"Miss Vanilla, I don't think we'll have to worry about him ever again. . ." Amy had her head down, and spoke quietly, but her words made Vanilla stop.

"What do you mean, dear?" Vanilla blinked and looked confused.

"He tried to escape, but. . ." Amy spoke, and Cream shot Amy a look, so Amy avoided saying her name. "We think his escape pod malfunctioned. We never saw him escape, and the whole mountain blew up."

"Oh. . ." Vanilla looked somber for a moment at news of death, then tried her best to look stoic. "Well. . . even though he died, it means that no one else has to get hurt by him and his machines." She nodded. Everyone else knew of Vanilla's kindness and compassion, and knew that even though she tried not to show it, she was happy that Eggman would not be around anymore. "Come in, all of you. Is there anything I can get you?" The group thought for a moment, then shook their heads.

"I don't think so, Miss Vanilla, thank you." Amy spoke up. "I think we're all just going to go home and go to sleep. . ." Everyone else gave general nods of agreement.

"All right. Thank you all so much for rescuing Cream." Vanilla bent down and hugged each of them in turn.

"You're welcome." Each of them responded during their hug.

"We should get to bed, dear." Vanilla turned to Cream, who nodded and yawned, tired from the eventful day. Cheese had already fallen asleep, loosely hanging onto Cream's shoulder. The group waved a good-bye and left. After they were gone, Vanilla walked Cream up to her room. "Are you sure you're all right, dear? It's been a long day. . ." She did not want to say anything about Cream's knowledge of Tails and Amy. If Cream was comfortable talking about it, Vanilla knew she would bring it up.

"I'm okay. . . I. . ." Cream covered up a yawn with her hand. "I just really want to go to bed. . ."

"Okay, dear. Good night." Vanilla hugged Cream.

"Good night, mama." Cream hugged Vanilla, then walked in and closed the door. She gently set Cheese down on the bed next to her and pet her. "Good night, Cheese." She pulled the covers over her and fell asleep instantly.

"You want us to take you home, Sonic?" Tails asked once they were outside.

"Nah. I need a good run to calm down. You both okay?" Sonic glanced between the two.

"Mm-hmm." Amy said, and Tails nodded.

"Okay. . . see ya. . ." Sonic patted Tails on the head and ruffled his fur, then gave Amy a quick hug, which she returned. Both of them waved as Sonic dashed off at full speed.

"I'll take you home, Amy." Tails smiled and took her hand, then got into the Tornado.

"Actually. . . Tails. . . can I stay with you tonight?" Amy asked with pleading eyes. "It's been a really rough day, and I don't want to be alone tonight. . ." She shivered, but she was not sure if it was from the cold of the night or fear of being lonely.

"O-Of course, Amy. . ." Tails felt sympathetic towards her, especially because she told Cream about them earlier in the day.

"Thank you, Tails. . ." Amy sighed, and both of them were quiet as they mulled over the day's events in their heads. The silence grew awkward as they landed in Tails's hangar a few minutes later.

"You all right, Amy?" Tails asked as they walked into the house. The long silence prior to this subconsciously made him speak softly.

"I. . . I don't know, Tails. . ." Amy sighed. "I'm glad Eggman's out of our hair, and Cream seems all right with us dating, but. . . that's a lot to handle for one day. It's a lot of changes, and there hasn't been any time to think about the future. . ." Amy lowered her head as she turned and walked upstairs. Tails frowned and wrapped his arms around her in a caring hug.

"I'm worried, too. . ." He gently nuzzled her cheek. "But, both of those things you said are really good for us. Things will be weird for a while, sure, but everything will be okay. We can slow down and have fun now that we don't have so many things to worry about." Although Tails tried to calm her down, he was just as nervous as she was, if not more. It was the first relationship for both of them, and although it was something to take solace in, it was also a major source of stress, because neither of them wanted to screw it up.

"I guess you're right. . ." Amy still sounded out of it. She turned and walked into Tails's guest room and closed the door, with the quiet creak and door closing echoing throughout the house. She sighed and flopped onto the bed, putting her arm over her eyes, but sleep was not coming. _I'm worried about Cream. . . she's always been so peaceful and calm, and I know she was angry at Eggman, but I also know she'll feel guilty about it, even though he was our enemy all our lives. I don't know if she can handle that right now. And then there's Tails, who got hurt because I tried to save Sonic when I didn't even need to! _She smacked herself on the forehead. _Ughhhhhhh. . . I should at least go check on him. . ._ She debated the idea for a few minutes, until she finally got up and walked down to his room as quietly as she could.

Tails took a walk down to his room that seemed so much longer than it actually was. Once he finally got to his bed, he laid down, but his eyes were still wide open, and his mind was racing. _I saw it. . . Eggman's gone. . . and I'm so glad Cream's okay. . . and everyone seems to be okay with Amy and I. . . but this. . . _Tails flicked his injured tail and winced. _This will be an annoyance, but I can still get work done. . . and I hope Amy's okay. . ._ He sighed and turned to Cosmo's plant, which was still doing well. _I wish you could see me now, Cosmo. . . I finally found love, and Eggman's out of our hair for good. . . just. . . what happens next? It's been so long since we've actually been and peacetime, I don't know how to deal with it. . ._ He paused when he heard a knock on the door. "Amy? What's wrong?"

"Oooooh, I can't sleep, Tails!" Amy balled her hands into fists. She looked down, unclenched her fists, and sighed. "I just can't stop thinking about today. . ." She looked up just in time to see Tails sitting up and patting the bed next to him.

"I can't, either, Amy, and I haven't been able to sleep, even though I'm so tired I should be out like a light." He made a weak grin at his joke, which Amy returned out of courtesy. "Come on, sit down, let's talk about it." Amy nodded and sat down beside him, putting her hand on top of his.

"I'm really sorry you got hurt, Tails. . ." Amy mumbled.

"I'll be fine, Amy. I don't have a lot of orders to work on, and I have ladders and such around the house, just in case. I can always fly in the Tornado. And Rouge said it would be a week at most, so if I take it easy, I might be better even faster than that." He really would miss the use of his natural flight, as it made him unique among foxes, and also gave him his own fun way to explore if he did not want to use machines. He felt better knowing it was only for a very short time.

"Okay, but. . . I want to take care of you until you feel better. . . it's the least I can do. . ."

"I won't force you, Amy. But if it'll make you feel better, go for it." Tails's eyes met hers, and both of them smiled.

"Thanks, Tails. . . and, what about Cream? She didn't have to destroy the escape pod, but she did. I know she was really mad at him, but still. . . it's not like her at all." Amy looked down again, her worry shown clearly on her face.

"It's a big shock. . . and it might be hard for her at first, but I know she'll be all right. She's got you, and I don't know anyone who can help someone through rough times better than you." Tails smiled, which made Amy blush. She leaned in and kissed him.

"Tails. . .?" She asked softly.

"What is it?"

"Can I. . . sleep here with you tonight?" Tails recalled Rouge's words from earlier and blushed bright enough to light up the room. "Not. . . not like that. . ." Amy blushed as well. "I-It's okay if you don't want to, I just. . . I feel safe when you're with me. . . and I really need that now. . ."

"O. . . Okay. . ." Tails tried not to appear too excited, but his injury helped calm him down. He pulled down the covers and moved to the edge of the bed, leaving plenty of room for Amy, who got in and tucked them both in.

"Thanks for all your help today, Tails. . . and thank you for saving me. . ." Amy wrapped her arm around Tails and snuggled close to him, and Tails gently held her in place.

"Aww, don't mention it." Tails's blush was visible to Amy, who grinned.

"I love you, Tails."

"I love you, too, Amy." Tails leaned in and kissed Amy, who closed her eyes and sighed happily into the kiss. She gently rest her head against his, and both of them fell asleep in each other's arms.


	12. Mobius Knows How To Party

__This was going to be a larger chapter until I realized that actually finishing it and getting it all out at once would make it too long for my tastes, and probably most of yours. Here's the first part, and the second will come out when it's done. Also, due to a work and class schedule adding up to about 55 hours per week for only the month of July, I probably won't be doing anything related to writing either story at all.

I don't own any of the characters. That's SEGA's job, and they do it well.

* * *

_Creeeeeeeeeeeak._

Amy slowly closed the door behind her, emerald eyes scanning the house for the source of the noise. It had been a rough shift for her, even though she got her hours reduced for the time being so she could take care of Tails. She was not sure if that was the door behind her, her imagination, or something else. Even though it had been three days since Eggman's death, Amy was still worried. She could not help but think that there were some stray robots out there that could attack, or some massive swarm that would come after the Freedom Fighters after learning of Eggman's death, or perhaps some new evil overlord would try to rise up and fill the very large hole, both literally and figuratively, that Eggman had left. She began to worry when she did not find Tails in his room, or in the kitchen, or on the couch watching TV.

_Creeeeeeeeeeeak._

He promised her that he would stay indoors until he was better, and she knew that he would not stay cooped up in bed all week. She also knew she was worrying far too much over a minor tail injury, but she still felt guilty over causing the injury for what ended up being no real reason. "Tails?" She was quiet, but she did not know why. It was early evening, and the sky had just turned dark. The moon was barely visible, and the first few stars were coming out. _Nothing's out to get you, Amy. You're not in a horror film, it's just Tails's house. Tails just. . . isn't here. He's upstairs, fixing up the guest room for tonight. _

_Creeeeeeeeeeeak._

"Yah!" Amy jumped, putting her hand over her chest and taking deep breaths to calm herself down. She turned left and walked down the hall, her eyes refusing to stay still as she walked through the house. She lay flat against a wall when she got close to the door, daring to peek around the corner for a split-second before being convinced there was nothing there.

_Creeeeeeeeeeeak._

"Come on, Tails, this isn't funny. . ." Amy shivered as she reached the end of the hall. She could tell that the sound was not coming from upstairs, and the only place she had not seen was the hangar. She stood close to the door, pulled it open, but stood behind it so she was hidden by the door. After a few seconds, she figured that nothing was coming out to get her.

_Creeeeeeeeeeeak._

The sound was very loud now, and Amy froze, then took a moment to regain her composure, as she knew she was close. She armed herself with her hammer, just in case, then ran into the dimly-lit room. The light immediately grabbed her attention, and Tails was tightening a nut with a wrench extremely slowly. "TAILS!" Two loud CLANG sounds were heard as Tails dropped his wrench, then jumped and hit his head on what he was working on, which happened to be the Tornado.

"Owww. . ." Tails sighed. "Amy, I told you, you don't have to shout. . ."

"And I told YOU not to work on anything while you're getting better! What if you hurt something else? Or get motor oil on that wound?" Amy stamped her foot and raised her hammer, and Tails scrambled back and held his hands out to stop her. Her eyes caught the wrench, and it finally registered that she had heard Tails this whole time, and that nothing was out to get them. She made her hammer disappear, dropped her arms so they rest limply at her sides, and hung her head. "I'm sorry, Tails. It's just been a crazy few days. I. . ." She took a deep breath and sat down beside Tails, hugging her knees to her chest, and looking down at her dress. "I keep thinking that Eggman's still alive, or that some robots are out to get us, or that you'll get hurt when I'm not around. . ." She looked up at Tails again to confirm that he was all right. Even though he had just been scolded, Tails had his familiar, friendly smile on, and his eyes were looking right into Amy's.

"Amy. . it's okay. . ." Once Tails saw Amy looking up, he jumped over to her and hugged her, wrapping her in his tails. He gently brushed them against her, which tickled her and made her giggle. "I'm glad you care so much about me, I really am, but I'll be fine. No one's heard anything about any attacks, no one's gotten hurt, and you saw Eggman unable to escape from his base." Tails, however, was hiding his own fears from her. He had a nightmare two days ago about Eggman returning and taking Amy away from him, which caused him to wake up screaming her name to an empty house. He was glad she was not there at the time so he did not have to explain it.

"Thank you, Tails. . ." Amy sighed and nuzzled Tails's fur. "I just wish the week would go by faster. . ."

"Why's that?" Tails blinked and leaned in, confused.

"Because then you'll be all better, and I won't have to worry anymore. . ."

"Amy, you don't have to worry about me, even now. I can't fly, and I have to be careful with that tail, but that's it. It's not like I hurt my leg. . ." Tails thought for a second. "Speaking of which, how's Rouge?"

"She's all right. She calls up to 'complain'. . ." Amy reached up and used air quotes where Tails could see. ". . . now and then. I've heard some of the things she's said to Shadow, and if her wit's still that sharp, then she's fine."

"Poor Shadow. . ." Tails chuckled.

"Yeah. From what I heard, he offered to take care of her. I never knew he could be so sweet."

"Sounds like he's a bit of a masochist, too. From what you said, and Rouge being cooped up at home, and Shadow having to be around her twenty-four seven, I don't know how he does it."

"Me, either. He probably uses chaos control when he needs to get away from her. That or he bangs his head against the wall until he knocks himself out."

"That poor wall. . ." Tails grinned, kissed Amy on the cheek, then stood up. "You didn't have to come by to check on me, you know. I'm being careful, and I'm feeling better already."

Amy pouted. "But that's no fun! Going straight back to my home and doing nothing is just so. . . boring sometimes. Besides, knowing I got to see you at the end of the day really helped."

Tails's eyes went wide, and he blushed. "Y-You're just saying that."

Amy giggled. "No, really! Even though I'm only working half my normal hours, it's still crazy down there. Apparently, the person covering the other half of my shift is kinda. . . incompetent. So it's like fitting six or seven hours into a four-hour shift, between fixing her work and doing my own."

Tails frowned. "Wow. I'm sorry, Amy, I had no idea. . ." He pulled her into a hug, which she returned.

"It's all right, Tails. I didn't want to tell you, cause I knew it would make you worry even more. But I survived half the week already, so I'll be fine, as long as I can see my cute little fox every day after work." Amy reached up and scratched the fur behind Tails's neck, which caused him to let out a happy sigh. Once he became aware that he did that, he blushed and buried his head into Amy's shoulder.

"Awww, you know you're always welcome here, Amy. And, to be honest, it gets real lonely working on the Tornado and watching TV all day."

"Oh, poor you. . ." Amy pulled back and stuck her tongue out at Tails, which made him laugh.

"I know you had a rough day. Did you need anything?" Tails got up and started walking out into the hall. "Maybe some ice cream?" Even though Amy could not see it, Tails grinned, as he knew that would help her feel better.

"Well, when you put it THAT way. . ." Amy got up, then dashed by Tails and got to the freezer. She had already gotten out the ice cream, bowls, spoons, and chocolate syrup by the time Tails got there.

"You never cease to amaze me, Amy. . ." Tails looked at her, rolling his eyes, and Amy stuck her tongue out again.

"Like you didn't want some ice cream, too." She laughed and scooped out the ice cream for each of them, giving Tails his bowl.

"Maybe. . ." Tails said slyly before digging in, eating until he got an ice-cream headache, which caused Amy to grin.

"Careful, Tails, you're hurt bad enough already as it is. . ." Amy laughed, and Tails chuckled through the occasional pain. He knew if she was making jokes like that, she was not worried near as much as she was a few minutes ago.

"This is worth it. . ." Tails managed to get the words out while wincing. He slowed down his eating, and both he and Amy finished off the ice cream in short order. Tails turned to the window and noticed the moon was high. "It's getting late, Amy. Do you want me to take you home?"

"No, I'll stay here tonight, if that's all right with you." Amy smiled.

"O-Of course it is." Tails blushed. "You don't have to ask."

"Oh, and I heard from Shadow and Rouge that there was going to be some sort of ceremony in our honor, for being the ones who finally defeated Eggman, once and for all. It's supposed to be a week and a half from now, so everyone will have had time to recover. Do you wanna go, Tails?" Amy looked on, and Tails thought for a moment.

"Sure. It'll be good to see everyone again." He nodded. "Who's going to be holding it?"

"The royal family, and Sally will be presenting the awards." Amy looked at Tails, who blinked and sighed. Both of them knew what that might mean if Sonic was going, which he probably would. He shrugged, indicating that he, at least, would cross that bridge when he came to it.

"So we KNOW it's going to be huge. . ." Tails sighed, as he still hated large crowds, and he did not entirely want so much fame and fanfare around him. Amy smiled and pulled Tails into a hug.

"It'll be fine, Tails. I'll be with you the whole time, and we'll get to see everyone again." Amy's eyes widened. "Oh! Guess what I got to do at work today?"

"Huh? What happened?" Tails blinked.

"My store is going to be providing the flowers for the whole event!" Amy beamed at Tails. "It took a day and a half to finalize the deal, and yours truly did most of it!" She squeezed Tails before letting him go.

"That's great, Amy!" Tails grinned.

"Mm-hmm! It certainly helped that they knew I was there for the final fight against Eggman." Amy smiled.

"Yeah, but you still did a good job to get a deal that big!" Tails leaned in and kissed Amy.

"Thanks, Tails." Amy blushed and giggled, then yawned. "Sorry. . . it's been a long day. . ." As soon as she admitted this, she slumped over slightly. "I'm gonna go to bed, okay?"

"See you in the morning." Tails leaned in and hugged Amy, who smiled and gave Tails a peck on the cheek.

"Love you, Tails." Amy said as she pulled away.

"Love you, too, Amy." Tails said as she went towards Tails's guest room, and he went towards his room. Both fell asleep quickly, and with smiles on their faces.

The next week and a half went by rather uneventfully. Tails was actually better the next morning, which was a great relief to both himself and Amy. Amy returned to her normal schedule and got a rather large bonus for helping get the deal to do the floral arrangements for the ceremony, and she knew what she was going to do with it as soon as she got it, but she decided to wait until after the ceremony was over to do it. Rouge got better as well, and Shadow was nearly at the end of his rope, having to chaos control out of the apartment a few times to prevent himself from going crazy. Rouge vaguely mentioned she would make it up to him somehow.

Tails's heart was pounding as he landed next to the castle just before the ceremony was supposed to start. He did not want to arrive early and fully take in all the media coverage and random mobians wanting a picture or an autograph. Lucky for him, Sonic was there, and so most of the attention was on him, with Rouge distracting plenty of the males. Tails managed to sneak around and see Amy chatting away with her boss for a few minutes before turning around and seeing Tails. She ran over to him and squeezed him. "Hey, Tails!"

"Hey, Amy!" Tails smiled and hugged her back, his tails flicking as he looked around. After wiggling around in Amy's arms enough to get room to breathe, he took a deep breath, and felt slightly more relaxed. He pulled away and took a minute to take in his surroundings. The castle grounds were groomed perfectly, with large, well-crafted shrubbery of each hero to be honored at the ceremony. They were placed along two rows that were right next to the walls leading up to the main entrance. A lot of plain white chairs were placed down the rather wide row leading to the entrance, with a bright red carpet covering the aisle in the middle, which was usually a trail of well-paved stone. A large wooden podium was set up right in front of the entrance, with a large wooden table beside it that had a small briefcase which held the medals on top of it. The seating area was roped off, and all the reporters were crammed up against it, trying to get the best view of the action. There were some royal guards stationed all around, just in case. The reporters and guards moving around so much was blocking most of the floral arrangements, but from what Tails could see, Amy had done an amazing job with them. Roses, lilies, tulips, azaleas, and violets, all set up in either attempts at scenic landscapes, such as a cliff overlooking a sea of violets, or into pictures of some of the heroes, whether it be Sonic's likeness in violets or Amy's own face done in roses. "Wow, they really went all out here. . ."

"Yeah, I've never seen the castle look this good." Amy pulled away and smiled. "But, then again, we have a real reason to celebrate, and we don't have to worry about any attacks. And we had a great florist work her magic." Amy grinned, and Tails laughed.

"Mm-hmm." Tails nodded. "I really like the roses." He jerked his head in the direction of Amy's face done in roses. Amy blushed, then pulled Tails in and kissed him.

"I was looking all over for you about half an hour ago, where were you?"

"Oh, I came a bit late." Tails shrugged. "There's just. . . so many people here. . ." His eyes darted around, and his breathing started to speed up. Amy quickly took his hands in hers.

"Tails, it's okay." Amy smiled. "I'm right here, and I'll be with you the whole time." Tails took a couple of deep breaths, then nodded.

"Thanks, Amy. Sorry, I'm just not used to being around big crowds." Tails looked down shyly.

"Don't worry about it. They're throwing a party for us! And if you wanted some time alone, you can just ask one of the guards or Sally, and I'm sure they'll give it to you." Amy beamed at him. Tails thought for a moment and nodded, as he knew Amy was right.

"Right! We should probably take our seats." Tails walked hand-in-hand with Amy down the aisle, then sat down in the chairs that were reserved for them. They were asked to sit next to each other, and both of them wondered if Sally knew about their relationship. Off to the side, they could see Sally practicing her speech. Neither of them had known her to speak in front of crowds at all. She was more the planner and the one who had to stay back to defend the city itself. A few minutes before the ceremony was set to begin, everyone began to take their seats. Sonic dashed over and sat next to Tails, and had his seat next to the aisle.

"Hey, buddy. Glad to see you're okay." Sonic gave Tails a thumbs-up, but both Tails and Amy could see how nervous he was.

"Yeah. It wasn't that bad, though. I could still work on the plane and stuff, I just couldn't fly." Tails shrugged and made his grip on Amy's hand a bit tighter.

"Still, that's a bummer. But, hey, it's a huge celebration for us! You've gotta like that, right?" Sonic gave an uneasy grin. He was talking to calm his own nerves as much as Tails's.

"Yeah!" Tails showed some semi-genuine enthusiasm. He had been at a few ceremonies like this before, but none as big as this. However, Sonic always got the attention and most of the glory. He knew that would be the case here, even though he stopped the robot that Sonic could not. He turned around and noted the faces he recognized in the crowd: Rouge, Knuckles, Vanilla, and upon further inspection, he saw a large, green tail and a small black stinger. He winced, as he knew the chaotix were in town, and he only hoped that Espio would be around to wrangle them in before they caused too much chaos. A second look found Cheese flying around just above the chairs and chirping sadly, which caused Tails to move slightly in his chair to get a better view, and he saw Cream sitting next to Vanilla, and his eyes grew wide when he saw her. Cream looked like she was about to pass out in her chair. There were bags under her eyes, which were also red, but she was not crying. Vanilla kept a straight face, but kept glancing down at Cream, clearly very worried, but not sure what to do. After a couple good nights of sleep, Cream had hardly been sleeping at all after what had happened with Eggman. She knew that it was for the best, and that she wanted to protect everyone, but her subconscious did not agree with her, taunting her with nightmares and whispers of things like "Murderer." Even aboard the Blue Typhoon, she had not had to kill anyone, mainly being the shield and defense expert, as well as a nurse when needed. She rarely went along with Sonic and crew on their missions, and while she heard stories, and occasionally saw the Freedom Fighters in action, she had never seen them kill anyone, except Cosmo, so she had no idea of how it would affect her. She tried her best to act normal during the last two weeks, and had succeeded until everyone noticed she would scare much easier and was not sleeping normally. Vanilla had tried to help her as much as she could, but she had no idea what was actually wrong with Cream. She was trying to get a therapist for Cream, but she wanted to ask Tails and Amy for their help once the ceremony was over. G.U.N.'s commander and some of their elite soldiers were present as well, but had mostly gone unnoticed until they filed into two rows of chairs set aside specifically for them.

After taking one last look at the crowd, Sally came out, striding to the podium with all the poise of the princess she was. Her bright blue dress matched her eyes, and her diamond necklace was sparkling in the sun, catching everyone's attention, especially Rouge's. Sonic's eyes were darting all around, but still unable to look completely away from Sally. She cleared her throat before adjusting the microphone and finally speaking. "Citizens of Mobius! We are here to celebrate the defeat of our most infamous foe, Dr. Eggman, once and for all!" She paused for applause, which was given gratuitously. She waited for two full minutes before clearing her throat to ask to continue. The crowd quickly quieted down, and she continued. "We have many of our own Freedom Fighters to thank, but we could not have done it without the forces of the Guardian Unit of Nations! Accepting the medal for his squad is Commander Jack Tower!" There was scattered applause, as not many mobians knew who the commander of G.U.N. actually was, and plenty of them had never seen any G.U.N. involvement in their daily lives. Jack marched up the aisle with a cold, straight face. He had seen many battles, and his gray hair, dark blue eyes, and well-decorated military uniform showed it. Sally had a large, gold pin emblazoned with the G.U.N. emblem ready when Jack reached the front. She reached up and shook his hand, then carefully placed the pin under all of Jack's own medals. After murmured words of thanks back and forth, Jack saluted Sally, who returned the gesture, then Jack walked back to his seat.

"Next, we honor the hero of Mobius, Sonic the Hedgehog!" There was a roar of applause, and between his proximity to the podium and his well-known speed, Sonic was up there in a flash. Sally was in the middle of turning to get his medal, but was unfazed by his quick arrival.

"Thank you, thank you!" Sonic was waving at the crowd by the time Sally had Sonic's medal ready for him. "Hey, thanks a lot, Sally, how's it going?" He still had his heroic grin on, but Sally did not say anything, merely putting Sonic's medal on and turning back to the podium. Each of the heroes had a unique gold medal made especially for them, and Sonic's was in the shape of one of his shoes. Sonic did not pay much attention to the medal and wanted to say something else, but thought better of it, and instead went back to his seat. Had he been paying attention, he would have seen frowns on the faces of Tails and Amy. They cast worried glances at each other, but their eyes went back to the stage once Sally spoke again.

"Next, the skilled engineer, and the smartest being in Mobius, Miles 'Tails' Prower!" The applause for Tails was less than the applause for Sonic, but Tails was still blushing at the compliment and smiling as he walked up to the podium. He bowed to Sally, who put the medal around Tails's neck. Tails was already looking down and was able to see that his medal was done in the shape of his twin tails.

"Glad to see you're okay, Tails. And, congratulations!" Tails nodded, but noticed her eyes had shot over to Amy. Tails gave a nervous grin, and Sally smirked. Tails turned away and dashed down the podium and back to his seat.

"Does Sally really scare you that much?" Amy whispered into Tails's ear and giggled.

"She knows about us, and I don't know how." Tails whispered back and shrugged.

"Maybe she heard about it from Sonic." Amy spoke, then looked back up as Sally prepared to speak again.

"The everlasting spirit, and the main florist for the event. . ." Sally gestured around to the faces of the heroes done in flowers. "Amy Rose!" Amy smiled and stood up to her own round of applause. She got up to the podium and curtseyed to the crowed before accepting her medal, a golden rose in full bloom.

"You did a wonderful job with the flowers, Amy, and. . ." Sally's eyes darted to Tails. "Congratulations!"

"Thank you, Sally." Amy giggled happily and walked back down, sitting beside Tails.

"Now, accepting medals for both herself and the absent Shadow the Hedgehog, a woman of many talents, Rouge the Bat!" Rouge walked up a bit more slowly to the front, in order to give people something to look at. Even though she was with Shadow, she could not help it. A blown kiss to the crowd once she reached the podium made Sally's eyes roll slightly. "Well done, Rouge. It's a shame Shadow couldn't be here, too."

Rouge merely shrugged. "He's not really one for parties." She bowed to accept her medal, which had a diamond shape that had a medical cross in the center, and took Shadow's, in the shape of a chaos emerald. "Thanks, hun, these have a spot reserved in the trophy room." Rouge had a different way of seeing her small room back in the apartment which contained her most prized possessions. Most others would call it a hoard, and many people would claim that something in that room was stolen by Rouge, and they would be correct. Rouge turned with a flourish and walked back to her seat in the same slow manner that she used to walk up.

"And now, we have a special award for the brave Cream the Rabbit, and her chao, Cheese! Even though they were taken by Eggman, they never gave up hope and did their part in the rescue effort!" There was plenty of applause for Cream and Cheese. However, Cream was looking more nervous than Tails, shaking as she walked up to the front, and Cheese was cradled in Cream's arms. Once she made it up, she covered part of her eyes with her ears.

"You did great out there, Cream. You, too, Cheese." Sally patted Cheese on the head, and pinned a small gold pin in the shape of a chao onto Cheese's bowtie. She then took Cream's medal, done in great detail in the shape of one of her flower crowns, and put it around her neck. Sally was smiling, but paused when she saw Cream shaking even worse than before. "Cream? What's wrong?" She noticed tears flowing down Cream's face, heard her sobs, and watched her turn and fly away using her ears.

Everyone heard Cream's sobbing, and Vanilla stood up and called out to her, but she kept flying away. A lot of the people and guards also called out, telling her to stop or come back, but to no avail. A few seconds later, Tails got up, dashed out of his seat, and flew after Cream. He was a slightly faster flier than Cream was, but the head start she got allowed her to fly for quite a distance before Tails even got close. Upon seeing he was close to her, she hid in a large tree. Tails could hear leaves rustling, and knew that Cream was still moving around in the tree, but her large ears gave her away. After about a minute of maneuvering in the tree, Tails finally caught Cream, wrapping her in a hug, and wrapping his tails around her as well. "Whoaaaaa!" Tails nearly fell out of the tree, as he did not expect Cream to thrash around once she was caught. He grabbed a branch with one hand for balance, and kept steady. "Cream, it's me, it's Tails. What's wrong?" His voice was surprisingly calm after seeing his close friend lose control like that. Cream was still sobbing for a while, but she stopped moving around, and Tails waited patiently for her to speak. After a few minutes, Cream's voice was hoarse and trembling, but she finally spoke.

"I. . . I killed him, Tails. . . I did a terrible thing. . ." Cream clutched Tails's tails and nuzzled them, which caught Tails by surprise and made him yelp.

"Cream, you did a great thing. Think of all the people that Eggman had killed in the past when he attacked us. He was going to kill so many more people, but you stopped that. You saved all those people, Cream. You're a hero."

"B-But killing people is wrong! Sonic's a hero, and he never killed anyone. . ." Cream sobbed into Tails's fur. Tails knew Cream had a point, and he paused for a moment.

"I know what it's like to kill, too, Cream. . ." Tails whispered into her ear, and Cream gasped, remembering what happened to Cosmo. "I know how you feel, and I know what you'll go through. But, the thing is, it's been some time since then, and you're still able to feel. That's a good thing, Cream. I cut myself off from everyone, and it just hurt them all even more. I know you feel bad, but you can still FEEL. That's actually a good thing, it shows you still care, even if you were mad at him when you decided to kill him."

"I still see him at night, when I close my eyes, Tails. . . he's scary. . ." Cream shuddered, and Tails wrapped his arms around her.

"It's okay, Cream. He's gone now. He won't come back. And if you get scared, you'll always have Amy, Sonic, and I to talk to."

"Th-Thank you, Tails. . ." Cream turned around and embraced Tails. She was taking deep breaths and trying to calm herself down, and Tails waited for her to do so. Cream nuzzled his fur and giggled, which caught Tails by surprise, but made him smile.

"Ready to go back?" Tails asked as he lifted Cream's chin.

"Mm-hmm!" Cream's eyes were red, but her voice was calm, and she had stopped shaking. Tails picked her up and flew her back, with Cheese flying all around the pair, happily chatting away with Cream on the way back. The crowd looked on as Tails flew in, and cheered when they saw Cream. Cream ran to Vanilla and hugged her. "I'm sorry, mama. . . Tails talked to me, and I'm feeling better now. . ." Vanilla patted Cream on the head and turned to Tails, smiling.

"Thank you, Tails. . ." Vanilla let go of Cream and walked over to Tails, leaning close to him and started whispering quickly. "Poor Cream, she's been having nightmares, I can tell. . . and you know what it's like, being against Eggman, so you can help her better than anyone. . . I've tried to get her help, but nothing was working, until you came along."

"Y-You're welcome, Miss Vanilla." Tails smiled. He felt bad for ignoring Cream for so long, but now he finally got to do something for her. He gave a wave goodbye before walking back to Amy. "She's okay now. She felt bad about what had happened with Eggman." Amy gave Tails a sad look and nodded, then both of them turned back to Cream, and were scared for what would happen with her next. She was the youngest member of the team, and the one who was the most opposed to violence. Worse yet, they had seen her get very angry at Eggman, which was another emotion they had hoped they would not see from her. Tails and Amy both knew they would have to be there for Cream, but because they would help her soon, rather than the six months that Tails waited to speak to anyone, they knew her chances of getting better were much higher. The two of them shared a hug, then smiled at each other.

"We can help her, Tails." Amy's voice was hopeful. "Maybe helping her can help you more, too." She gave him a playful pat on the head, ruffling his fur. "Let's go back now. The main ceremony is done, it's all just chatting and boasting." Tails nodded and walked back with her, hand in hand. No one really looked at both of them for very long or with very much interest, and they began to wonder how far the news of them being together spread, or if everyone was too busy to care. The first person to come up to them was the manager of the flower shop Amy worked at, who asked for a word with her. Tails nodded and began to walk around. Everyone was either talking to someone else or paying attention to one of the "main attractions," so to speak, and the biggest attraction was Sonic. He had gotten credit for finishing off Eggman, and he was only okay with taking the credit because Cream had asked him to. He knew how hard Cream's life would become if everyone thought of her as the sweet and polite girl who also killed Eggman. She did not want that much attention, and Sonic understood that. He could handle attention, but he could not handle making one of his friend's lives a living hell, especially when they were so young. He had no desire to feel the way he did when Tails was depressed and grieving and shut everyone off again if he could help it. Tails nodded at Sonic and silently wished him luck before heading over to the only person he recognized with no one around her, which was Rouge. At first, he was not sure whether Sonic was a bigger hit with the crowd, or whether Rouge was trying to steal something. He knew it was the former when Rouge gave him a welcoming look.

"Everything okay, Tails? How is she?" Rouge said once Tails stopped in front of her.

"She's okay. She's just. . . scared, over what happened. She's the nicest girl you'll ever meet, never hurt anyone in her life unless it was self-defense, and now she's. . ." Tails's voice was quiet and full of concern, and Rouge cut him off with a nod.

"She's got plenty of friends to help her, she'll be fine." Rouge said dismissively, and Tails frowned as he heard the jealous undertone.

"Why couldn't Shadow come? Is he all right? Off on some mission?" Tails both reminded her that Shadow was there for her and asked something that had him curious at the same time. Rouge shook her head.

"Shadow doesn't like parties, and he doesn't like attention." Rouge shrugged. "I guess he thinks everyone still hates him." She looked at the ground and frowned. Tails looked sympathetic , but before he spoke, Amy ran up to him and gave him one of her typical greeting hugs.

"TAILS!" Amy was too excited to control her voice for a moment, only considering how loud she was when she saw Rouge with wide eyes and her hands clasped over her ears. "Oh, sorry. . . I got the promotion! I'm the assistant manager, now second-in-command at the shop!" She was beaming at Tails, and Rouge looked back up and gave a smile that only looked somewhat forced.

"That's great, Amy! Congratulations!" Tails gave her a hug and flicked his Tails, which tickled Amy.

"Congratulations, Amy. . ." Rouge held her smile, with happiness flashing in her eyes.

"Where's Shadow?" Amy blinked and looked around.

"He didn't want to come. Shadow always hated parties." Rouge shrugged. "He is due to come pick me up soon, though. I came for the medals, I never liked the chatter after the party. I have more important things to do." A flash of green light signaled Shadow's arrival. "Right on time. Good job." Rouge gave Shadow a pat on the head like he was a pet chao. Shadow gave his standard greeting of a grunt.

"I didn't come here today because I wanted a break from you. Being at your side for a whole week was exhausting, even for me." Shadow's face was free of expression. Rouge got annoyed, and Tails and Amy did not dare to laugh.

"But you know better than anyone that I'm worth it." Rouge smirked. "I'm even going to take you out to dinner to celebrate, just like I promised. Say. . ." She turned to Tails and Amy, who were a bit confused. "How about we make it a double date? Amy's got a promotion to celebrate, and Tails took down the robot AND got himself a girlfriend. You two deserve a good night out as well, and I know all the best spots in town for a good meal and some good fun." Shadow turned and glared at Rouge. "Don't worry, hun, we'll still have some time together, just the two of us." His look softened, but he still looked Tails and Amy over, eventually nodding his approval. "Well, you two? Wanna join us?" Tails and Amy looked at each other, thinking it over, and eventually nodding. "Great! How about next Friday night, six o'clock?" They both nodded again. "I won't tell you where you're going. . . I want it to be a surprise. . ." Rouge grinned, and Tails and Amy both looked nervous. "So Shadow will pick you up at Tails's house. . ."

"Don't push it, Rouge. . ." Shadow growled.

"It'll be worth it, sweetie. . ." Rouge winked. Shadow nearly blushed, and the corners of his mouth twitched, making him smile for a split-second. He went quiet, and Rouge took it as him backing off. "Great! We'll meet you then. See ya." Rouge latched onto Shadow's arm and the pair disappeared in a flash of green light. Tails and Amy looked at each other for a few moments.

"I'm not so sure about this, Amy. . ."

"Oh, it'll be fine." Amy was not entirely convinced. "Rouge wouldn't take us anywhere dangerous. . . and we know she can keep Shadow in line. . ." Amy forced a grin, but Tails simply shrugged.

"Okay. . . how about we head home?" Tails glanced towards the Tornado, and Amy nodded.

"Sure. I've had enough excitement for one day." Amy quickly walked with Tails, avoiding the large groups of people, and getting to the Tornado more or less unnoticed. They took off and were back at Tails's house within minutes. Both of them were tired after the day's activities, and quickly went to bed.

The next few days brought some changes, but most of them were good. Cream was sleeping much better, and talked to Tails by phone daily. Tails hid away and worked on building things when he was not talking to Cream or Amy. He had gotten more orders and calls since the award ceremony was broadcast, but he was able to fill the orders quickly. Amy was enjoying her fame and being nice to all the new customers and fans at the flower shop, although she talked to Tails much less than normal, because she had to work longer hours to keep up with the increased demand and was exhausted when she finally got home. Rouge was busy planning the double date, and had asked for Shadow to let her plan it alone, so Shadow would leave and do whatever Shadow does when he was alone. Six o'clock on Friday night rolled around, and Rouge leaked the first place they were going to Shadow right before he picked up Tails and Amy. Even Shadow could not hide a smile when he heard the location, and he took Rouge by the hand and left in a flash of green light, taking her to where the date was going to start, then teleported to just outside of Tails's house. He composed himself before knocking on the door, where the couple was waiting for him. Amy was all dressed up, but Tails was not. No one minded that, though, and Tails felt better about it when he saw that Shadow was not dressed up either. "Let's go. Each of you, grab one of my arms." Tails and Amy were nervous, as Shadow sounded very impatient already. They did as they were told and all three disappeared in a flash of green light.


	13. Everybody Hates Rouge

Here's the second part of the next chapter, and holy crap you people like me! 5,000 views here and followers, favorites, and reviews for BOTH stories! That said, don't expect much for a while. Being low on ideas and about to start a 50 hour a week schedule for a month will do that. I'll work on Blaze's story next, because I haven't done so for a while and it's really popular for only having two chapters.

SEGA owns all the characters, except Rosette. Yay, Rosette!

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Tails's and Amy's jaws dropped when they saw the place Shadow took them to. Rouge was standing just inside the front door, waiting for them, but their eyes went past her, looking at the inside of the restaurant. While there were booths off to the side like most restaurants would normally have, the large central area caught the couple's attention. The tables were spread out through the center area, and the tables and chairs were made of ebony wood. The tablecloths had were colored gold, and small diamond chandeliers were hanging in between tables, providing light as well as atmosphere. There was a large stage at the front that was painted pure white and extended out in a semicircle towards the diners. There were large white spotlights that hung over the stage, and a typical red curtain with gold trim. The booths off to the side had comfortable back padding that was covered in leather that was painted ruby red. There were side hallways that were barely visible from the front, which led away to more private rooms that were meant for dining, but in truth, just about anything had happened back there. The three of them came back to reality once Rouge stepped towards them.

"Welcome to the Chaos Diamond. . ." Rouge went all-out tonight, with a diamond necklace and bracelets, and a tight black dress, which allowed her to catch both Shadow and Tails staring. Amy looked down at her usual red dress and suddenly felt very underdressed. Shadow and Tails might have thought they were underdressed as well, had they not both been staring at Rouge. "Beautiful, isn't it? The best restaurant in all of Mobius, complete with entertainment, but we'll be done well before that." At this, Shadow frowned slightly, and Rouge glanced at him. Shadow lowered his head, and Rouge laughed. "I've already taken care of everything, let's go to our table." Everyone else followed Rouge to their table that was right at the center of the restaurant. Tails's and Amy's eyes looked around to see the other diners, and most of them were CEOs of large companies or self-made millionaires, both human and mobian alike. All of them had three-piece suits or other very formal dress on, which made Tails and Amy feel slightly more nervous about being here. Shadow rolled his eyes as soon as he saw where they would be sitting. Even though he did not like to be around large crowds if he could help it, Rouge always wanted to be the center of attention, and Rouge was the one who made the reservation. The four of them sat down, with each person looking directly at their significant other. All of them looked at the menus, but barely got any time to look before a waiter had approached them and asked what they had wanted to drink. Amy and Shadow went for water, Tails wanted soda, and Rouge asked to see the wine list, which made Shadow's eye twitch. Rouge selected an impressive-sounding wine, and they all went back to the menus. Amy whispered to ask Tails for translations of a few items, but Rouge's keen hearing would pick them up and help the newer couple out with figuring out what the items were. Everyone's eyes were glued to the table and their immediate surroundings, except for Rouge's. Tails and Amy were in awe of the place, but were also intimidated because of the company they were in. Shadow did not mind the place, but still would rather it just be himself and Rouge. The waiter came by and took everyone's orders, then took their menus, which made Tails and Amy glance around the room. They could barely see down the halls, which had some rather interesting paintings, and some doors with gold borders and locks that led to the private rooms.

"This place is amazing. . ." Once Amy had started to look around, she could not stop. "When did you first come here?"

"We came with the Commander of G.U.N. about a year ago after pulling off a very difficult series of missions ending with the capture of one of the world's most notorious underground criminals. He took us here to celebrate, and it turns out quite a few of the people here knew about us." Rouge said, grinning. "They said we were welcome back here anytime."

"That's great!" Amy beamed.

"And take it from me, hun, the food's as good as the atmosphere." Rouge gestured all around, and the mention of food made Tails's ears perk up. Shadow was silently wishing he could chaos control ahead until the food got here. There were a couple of minutes of silence, broken by Rouge. "So, what's the lovely couple been up to? How's that tail of yours, foxy?" Rouge giggled.

"Oh! It got better after a few days. I kept the wound clean and kept out of trouble just like you asked-" Tails began, but got cut off.

"Kept out of trouble? You were still working on your machines!" Amy spat.

"My tail wasn't anywhere near it!"

"That's not what I saw when I came in that night! You scared me half to death!" Rouge chuckled while the two argued.

"Geez, you two, you sound like an old married couple." Rouge's statement made the couple blush. "How long have you been together, again?"

"A little over a month." Amy said. "But we've been close for about a year and a half before that." Her hand found Tails's and gripped it, comforting Tails, but also making him blush more.

"What kind of close are we talking?" Rouge glanced at Tails, seeing his blush, but not his hand in Amy's. The two of them glanced at each other, still wanting to hide Tails's breakdowns if they could help it.

"We. . . we just talked together and hung out a lot. . ." Tails stuttered out.

"Hung out, huh? Where at?" The drinks came, and Rouge took a sip of her wine. "Twinkle Park?"

"No. . . it was usually at my house. . ."

"At YOUR house?" Rouge rolled her eyes. "Please tell me you didn't try to woo her with your machines. . ."

"No. . ." Tails shook his head. "We mostly just. . . talked on the couch. . ." He shrugged.

"Did you do anything ELSE on the couch?" Rouge raised her eyebrows, and Shadow got up and silently excused himself, unable to stand Rouge's banter any longer. Amy smiled as she noticed this, and decided to get Rouge off this line of questioning, as it was getting old fast.

"What about you and Shadow, Rouge? How did you two finally get together?" Amy knew what her deflection was implying, but she did not care. She knew what she and Tails had done and not done, and she had faced far worse than some teasing from Rouge.

"Well, we had worked together a lot for missions with G.U.N., and we hung out outside of that, but Shadow was his usual self, being all distant and moody. I was always curious about him, though, so I kept him company when I could. I don't know exactly when it started, but for some reason, he started acting really strange around me. He was nervous, mostly. It was really cute when he asked me out, he was stumbling all over himself. It's nice to know there are some things that can scare the 'Ultimate Lifeform.'" Rouge used air quotes.

"You, scare me, batgirl? Hardly." Shadow scoffed, and no one had seen him return to the table. Everyone wondered if he had used chaos control, but he did not have an emerald on him. "I had simply found peace and a friend in this world. Maria would want me to be happy, and being with Rouge, well. . . close enough." Rouge turned to Shadow with a glare.

"So I'm STILL playing second fiddle to a dead chick?" Rouge shot back.

"At least I get some peace and quiet around her." Shadow folded his arms and stared back at Rouge.

"Old married couple, huh?" Amy put in, grinning. "Well, Shadow, you look great for, what, fifty-something?" Tails snickered, but Shadow shot his well-practiced glare back at both of them, and they were silenced instantly. After a few seconds of silence, Rouge continued on as though none of this had happened.

"And now we've been together for almost a year. I don't know what I'd do without him, but most of the time, I don't know what I should do WITH him, either." Shadow turned his glare onto Rouge, but she did not flinch. She knew she should change the subject, though. "So, Amy. . . got any plans with all that money you'll get from the promotion?"

"Oh. . . I've got a couple things lined up. . ." Amy smiled.

"What kind of things?" Rouge glanced at Tails suggestively.

"Oh, just a few things for around the house. . ." Amy continued to smile.

"More pink stuff?" Rouge snickered.

"What can I say? It's my favorite color!" Amy smiled, but was still embarassed.

"You have a nice place, Amy, but there's too much pink in there, it hurts the eyes. . ." Rouge scoffed.

"You just don't have good taste, Rouge. It's much better than black!"

"Black's a good color! It's dark and mysterious, just like me. . ." Rouge gave a flirty giggle. "And it reminds me of a certain someone. . ." Amy turned to Shadow.

"I don't know how you put up with her, Shadow. . ." Amy gave an exaggerated sigh.

"Chaos control helps." Shadow shrugged. Rouge's retort was halted by the waiter bringing their food over. Shadow had steak, Rouge had seafood, and Tails and Amy had pastas in sauces that they did not even try to pronounce. Tails and Amy started to eat and enjoyed the food very much, even saying so, mostly to take the conversation away from where it was about to go.

"I knew you'd like it here." Rouge smiled. "I DO have good taste when it comes to. . . well, everything." The other three gave up, deciding not to stop Rouge, and also deciding not to point out that the commander had shown them this restaurant in the first place. They went back to eating for a couple of minutes.

"So, Shadow. . ." Amy was timid, but wanted to break the silence. "Y-You're awfully quiet, what have you been up to?" Shadow paused for a few seconds longer, silently enjoying Amy squirming at the silence.

"I helped take care of Rouge and took a bit of a vacation." Shadow grinned.

"Ooooh, where'd you go?" Amy smiled, knowing she had a good topic of conversation, and with Shadow, no less.

"I went into the forest, and the mountains, and out by the ocean. Chaos control comes in handy sometimes."

"And what did you do?"

"I just walked around and enjoyed the silence. Also, did a lot of target practice with chaos spear." Amy shuddered, now regretting asking. The awkward silence returned, and Rouge broke it again.

"So, Tails, what did you do when you were recovering?" Rouge asked, and Shadow's attention turned to Tails.

"Oh, I got caught up on some work for some clients. Amy had a some time off to take care of me, so she came over and hung out a lot." Tails smiled.

"Awww, how sweet." Rouge gave a suggestive grin. Tails nodded and flicked his tails, oblivious to the grin.

"Yeah, it was really nice. Even with fewer hours, she still had a crazy schedule, but she came by to see me every day." Tails beamed at Rouge, and Amy blushed.

"Aww, thanks, Tails. . ." Amy leaned in and kissed Tails on the cheek, which made him blush as well. Rouge covered her mouth to suppress a giggle.

"You're a lucky girl, Amy. The way Shadow was acting around me sometimes, I could have sworn he bought earplugs." Rouge rolled her eyes, and Shadow blinked. Rouge was correct, but Shadow did his best to hide said earplugs. He hoped it was merely a lucky guess. Everyone else noticed that Shadow took a lot of interest in his steak after that comment.

"So. . ." Amy thought for a second. "Do you always go out somewhere like this when you want to be romantic?"

Rouge shook her head. "No, this place is really expensive." At slightly concerned looks from Amy and Tails, she continued. "Don't worry, the Commander said he would pay for all four of us. But, I know all the best places in the city for entertainment. Some nice clubs to go out at and relax, some other restaurants that are a bit more private, some good places to catch a movie. . . but, usually, Shadow and I will just go out to the mountains or onto the beach at night. It's just the two of us out there, the moonlight covering everything, the stars shining bright. . . it's just so peaceful. A nice way to unwind after a rough day at the office, too." Rouge glanced between the two, thinking. "What about you? Where do you like to go?"

Tails blushed as he thought about it. "Um. . . we've been kinda busy, so we haven't had a lot of time to go on dates. We've just gone out to restaurants and gone back home." Amy, on the other hand, lit up.

"But soon we'll be able to go out more often! That promotion gets me more vacation days as well, and I've already got some ideas planned!" Tails vaguely recalled her earlier promises of Twinkle Park and other, lesser-known places for some interesting date activities.

"That's great, Amy!" Tails responded, blushing and feeling slightly embarrassed that he had not thought of anywhere interesting to go on a date. He figured Amy knew this as well and would have plenty of date ideas herself.

"Looks like you got saved there, Tails." Rouge laughed. Shadow had summoned the waiter and asked for the check just as Rouge's glass of wine was refilled. It was brought out quickly, which was probably due to the tone of voice Shadow asked in, and his concerned glance at Rouge. "Awww, we're leaving so soon?" Rouge asked as the check was brought to them. Tails and Amy caught a glance and were grateful they were not paying. Shadow showed the waiter his G.U.N. identification and explained, and the waiter understood the situation and took the check away.

"Let's go." Shadow spoke up, making Rouge fall silent. "Rouge, you first." Rouge took his hand and the pair were off in a flash of green light. Seconds later, Shadow returned, extending both hands, which Tails and Amy grabbed, and the three of them were outside of Tails's home.

"Thank you for the date and the food, Shadow, it was wonderful." Amy said, and Tails nodded in agreement.

"Don't mention it. It was nice to have people other than Rouge to talk to." Shadow grinned.

"Shadow!" Amy spoke in a chastising manner, but giggled afterwards.

Shadow simply shrugged. "Those earplugs were lifesavers." Amy frowned, but Tails started laughing. Amy glared at Tails, but, after thinking about it for a second, began to laugh as well.

"See you around, Shadow. Maybe we could do this again sometime." Tails waved, smiling, and then went back to laughing. Shadow shrugged before disappearing.

Once Shadow reappeared in his and Rouge's apartment, Rouge was lying on the bed. "That was. . . entertaining. . ." He grinned, slowly walking towards Rouge, noting the seductive look in her eyes. "How are you feeling after that wine?"

"Pff!" Rouge laughed. "You know full well it'll take more than a little wine to bring me down. In fact, it really got me riled up. . ." She winked at Shadow. "Now, I said I'd make it worth your while, and a lady ALWAYS keeps her word. . ."

"Who said you were a lady?" Shadow snickered. "A spy and a thief. . . you're a pretty bad girl. . ."

"Well. . ." Rouge beckoned Shadow to come to her. "Let me show you what us bad girls can do. . ." Shadow came to her as if he was in a trance.

Tails and Amy walked inside, both more nervous than tired. "That place was amazing!" Amy squealed.

"Yeah! I never even heard of the place before, but I had a great time! I want to go there again, but I'll have to work overtime making stuff to afford it. . ." Tails sighed.

"It's okay, Tails. . ." Amy put her hand on his shoulder. "You don't have to take me out somewhere like that to impress me. Wherever we go, I'll be happy, because I'm with you." Amy leaned in to kiss a now blushing Tails. Tails kissed back and embraced her, and Amy's arms slowly wrapped around Tails. When Tails did not let go, Amy continued the kiss, giving a playful giggle as she pulled back for a bit of air. Amy paused for a moment and moved in, putting her hand up behind Tails's head to keep it there. Tails gasped in surprise during the kiss, which let Amy slip her tongue into his mouth. Tails's eyes went wide, but he did not move away, instead deciding to get used to the new feeling. After a second, he ventured his tongue along hers and into her mouth as well. Neither of them had any experience with this, so both of their movements were a bit awkward, Tails's more so than Amy's. Twenty seconds of interesting maneuvering and awkward sounds later, Amy pulled away, and both of them were blushing heavily.

"S-Sorry I wasn't that good at it. . ." Tails looked down.

"Don't worry, Tails. I'm not very good at it, either. It just means we need more practice. . ." Amy winked, and Tails smiled. When he tried to speak, but could not, Amy giggled. "Guess I was so good, I left you speechless." Tails's nerves caused him to look down quietly. Amy gently hugged Tails. "Don't worry about it, Tails. I know it's scary being in your first serious relationship with someone, but we'll learn as we go, and I know you're a fast learner." Amy smiled, hoping her on-the-spot analysis made Tails feel better.

"I only WISH there was a textbook that could help me understand girls." Tails muttered, and Amy laughed.

"It gets easier as you go, Tails. And you're doing a pretty good job already." Amy patted his head and scratched him behind his ears, which made him exhale slowly. Amy sighed and yawned. "I don't know about you, but I'm beat. I was gonna spend the night here, with you, okay?"

"Okay! I was just about to go to bed as well." Tails nodded and walked off towards his room, and Amy followed him. Tails pulled the covers down and Amy got comfortable, then Tails got in and tucked them both in and snuggled up to Amy. "Amy?"

"What is it, Tails?"

"Thanks for everything since we got out of that fight with Eggman. You came by every day to take care of me, taking a cut in hours to do so, and you put up with me being so, uh. . . shy." Tails blushed and looked away.

"You're so cute when you're shy." Amy giggled.

"It just. . . it really made me feel special. I'd have been fine on my own, but I'm glad you're here with me."

"Aww, Tails. . ." Amy smiled. "That's so sweet. . . but I was just doing what a good friend would do. . ."

"Well, you're a good friend, and a great girlfriend." Tails smiled, and Amy grinned sheepishly while rolling her eyes at the line. _Nice message, Tails, but the delivery needs work._

"Thanks, Tails. I love you."

"I love you, too, Amy." Tails leaned in, and the pair of them kissed. Tails fell asleep quickly, and Amy gently pulled one of Tails's tails over both of them before falling asleep as well.

"Tails should be home soon. . ." Amy muttered as she looked out from the front door of Tails's house. Three weeks had passed without much happening, other than Amy going back to her usual amount of hours, and working in her new role as assistant manager. She enjoyed her new position, and made some bouquets on her break when she was so inclined for the joy of it. She did spend some of her newfound riches on some things for her house, just like she mentioned, but she also thought a lot about some important decisions she knew she would have to make. She had made up her mind about some of them, and decided to put some of them off for later. As she saw Tails coming in for a landing, she smiled brightly at him and jumped up and down, trying to get him to notice her. He did, because pink and red against the light brown dirt and green grass stands out very well. He waved at her, and stuck up his index finger to indicate he would see her in a moment. He landed the plane in the hangar, and dashed out of it, closing the hangar via remote control.

"Amy!" He shouted as he ran to her. "What are you doing over here?" He smiled.

"I've got a couple of surprises for you, Tails!" Amy beamed at him, and Tails stood about a foot from her, stunned.

"Wow! Like what?" His eyes lit up like a young child's on Christmas morning.

"Okay, now!" Amy said, but nothing happened for a second. Tails looked confused.

"Huh?" He looked around, but saw nothing. He turned his head, but quickly faced Amy when he felt something small press against him. He looked down when he saw a small pink chao clinging to his chest and nuzzling his chest fur.

"Chao, chaoooooooo!" Rosette looked up at Tails, a heart forming above her head. Tails smiled and laughed.

"Hi there, Rosette!" Tails laughed and hugged Rosette, then looked back up to Amy. "When did you get her?"

"A couple of days ago. I wanted to make sure I had everything ready to raise a chao before I got one. Cream helped me a lot with that." Amy smiled at Tails. "And now. . ." She stepped closer to him. "I have a question for YOU." She gently jabbed his chest with her finger. Tails's eyes went wide.

"Wh-What is it?"

"Well. . ." Amy looked down and blushed slightly. "While I was taking care of you, it really hit me just how big your house was for only one person. I know you can get around and do everything just fine, but, still. . . it has to be lonely for you, walking around that big house and the even bigger hangar with no one to talk to or help you with anything." Tails paused and considered this for a moment.

"Yeah, it's a big house, but I'm fine, Amy. . ." Tails was confused, but Amy continued.

"One of the other reasons I bought Rosette was that it was pretty lonely at my house, too. It's also part of why I come over here so often. You're a great guy, Tails, and I want to be around you as much as I can." Tails tilted his head to the side.

"Amy. . . what are you asking?"

"I want to move in with you, Tails. I can take the upstairs room, and bring all of my stuff and the things for raising Rosette over in a couple of trips in the Tornado, and set everything up in the guest room. Ever since I got Rosette, I've been so much happier, and it took me some time to figure out why. I get to come home to someone who's happy to see me, and someone who I'm happy to see. It's not just coming home to an empty house with a TV or having to wait for company to come by to have some companionship. It's a great feeling, Tails, and I want to share it with you. So, what do you think?" Amy smiled nervously, hoping she had not somehow talked her way out of getting what she wanted by confusing Tails too much. Rosette had been listening to Amy, and had now perched herself on Tails's head. She could almost hear the wheels turning while she played with the fur on top of his head. After about ten seconds, Tails smiled and walked over to Amy, wrapping his arms around her.

"Of course, Amy, I'd love to have you live with me." Amy squealed and squeezed him.

"Chao, chao?" Rosette patted Tails on the head.

"Yes, Rosette, you, too." Tails laughed as the three of them hugged. "I'll start preparing the guest room, and you can move in tomorrow. I've got the day off, I can help."

"Yay! Thank you so much, Tails!" Amy let go, and Rosette flew back to Amy, and the two of them embraced. "Rosette's never been in your house, Tails, how about we give her a grand tour?" Rosette's eyes went wide.

"Chao, chao?"

"Sure, why not?" Tails smiled and opened the door. "Come on in, Rosette!" He gestured for them to follow.

"Chaooooooooo. . ." Rosette looked around at Tails's house. She was not used to seeing sights that were not the Chao Garden's peaceful setup or the overwhelmingly pink house of Amy Rose. A question mark came up over her head, but she noticed Tails waving at her, and focused on him.

"The living room's over here. . ." Tails pointed to the right, to the large couch and TV that accompanied it. He turned back to the kitchen, walking over to it. "And here's the kitchen. . ."

"Chao!" Rosette clapped as she heard the kitchen mentioned, remembering the fun times she had had with Amy right after she moved in. Amy had actually baked a small cake that she and Rosette shared to celebrate her coming to a new home. She flew around the kitchen for a moment, then back to Tails.

"Ready to move on?" Tails asked excitedly. Rosette nodded, and Tails walked down the hall heading to his room. "This is my bedroom. . . but you'll be staying with Amy, I'll show you where." He ran through the hall and up the stairs, and Rosette excitedly followed. When he reached their room, he began to size it up, already thinking ahead of where he would fit things. "Right here. . . you think it'll be big enough for both of you?" Tails was thinking out loud.

"Chao!" Rosette cheered and flew around the room, which made Tails laugh.

"Great!" Tails nodded, but frowned. "I'm sorry for making you move so soon, you probably just got used to Amy's house. But you'll have Amy here, and all of the things she got for you. That should be okay. . . right?"

"Chao, chao!" Rosette dove towards Tails and hugged him again.

"Good." Tails nodded and smiled, cradling Rosette in his arms. His eyes shot open as he got an idea. "Hey, hold on!"

"Chao?" At this point, Tails started to fly down the stairs and through the hall. "Chao, chao!" Rosette was stunned at first, but then clapped, enjoying the ride.

"Not much to see here, just a bathroom and a closet. . ." Tails pointed to the side rooms, then stuck out an arm, pushing the door to the hangar open. "Now, here's the hangar and lab! It's where I keep all my planes and other things I'm building, as well as all the experiments I'm doing!" Rosette looked around the lab, and a question mark appeared over her head, as she had never seen anything like this before.

"Don't confuse her too much with your technical babble!" Amy called out as she caught up to them. "What do you think, Rosette?" The question had snapped Rosette of her fascination with the large lab. She wriggled out of Tails's arms and started doing flips in the air.

"Chao, chao, chao, chaooooooooo!" She flew around the lovers happily. Amy giggled.

"I think she likes it, Tails." Tails laughed and nodded.

"I think so, too."

"Oh, one more thing, Rosette." Amy looked up at Rosette, who turned to Amy. "This place can be pretty dangerous if you're careless. Please don't come in here unless Tails or I are with you and say it's okay. All right?" Rosette nodded, and Amy clapped. "Great!"

"Starting tomorrow, this will be your new home!" Tails exclaimed. He smiled as he looked between Amy and Rosette, and the three of them joined for a group hug.

The rest of the night involved the three of them planning exactly what Amy would bring over and where it would fit, as well as making sure to have some spare space for Rosette to play in. After three hours, they had lists of each item and their dimensions, as well as some detailed plans drawn by Tails. Once they were all satisfied, Rosette went upstairs with Amy, and Tails went to his bed, falling asleep almost immediately. Amy and Rosette were chatting away, both very excited about moving in with Tails, before finally falling asleep.


End file.
